


Feel You In My Bones

by TeamDamon



Category: Dragon Ball
Genre: Bondage, Bottom Son Goku (Dragon Ball), Bottom Vegeta (Dragon Ball), Bulma has a solution, Bulma is a good bro, Butt Plugs, Cave sex, Choking, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Face Slapping, Goku is a himbo, M/M, RIP me, Safewords, Spanking, Tail Sex, Top Son Goku (Dragon Ball), Vegeta is a tad sexually frustrated but he doesn’t know it, Voyeurism, bribery of smol children, don’t know how to tag that but yeah it’s there, idk how else to tag this, its all consensual, ki cuffs, mildly drunk veggie, she’s just lookin out for her veggie, some light BDSM happening, thats right my dudes, the best wife really, there’s some consensual punching/fighting when things start heating up, they’re switching, this story has officially gotten away from me and will prob be 388282 chapters, veggie’s a power bottom tho really
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-03
Updated: 2020-05-06
Packaged: 2021-02-27 07:20:23
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 62,042
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22093213
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TeamDamon/pseuds/TeamDamon
Summary: “I will not, nor will I ever, fuck Kakarot.”“Fine,” Bulma shrugged, reaching over to grab her sleep mask from her nightstand. “Don’t. It was just a suggestion, not a command.”Vegeta crossed his arms and stared angrily at the back of her head as she turned off the light and laid down, her back to him as she let out a long yawn.“Besides,” she muttered casually, “I figured Goku would be the one doing the fucking anyway.”Vegeta’s jaw dropped.—Aka where Bulma knows what her husband needs and makes sure that he gets it. Formerly titled “Just Wanna Taste It”.
Relationships: Bulma Briefs/Vegeta, Chi-Chi/Son Goku (Dragon Ball), Son Goku/Vegeta (Dragon Ball)
Comments: 146
Kudos: 837
Collections: Baby Buu’s Favs, Thunder & Lightning





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So disclaimer: this is my first Dragon Ball fic, so take that as you will. Second disclaimer: I have no idea if this fits the canon timeline??? Dragon Ball only recently became a hyperfixation (well, 9 year old me was also obsessed and now at 30 it’s made a resurgence) and there’s just A LOT to consume and I’m getting there but point is, idk if this setting makes much sense so if it doesn’t, just consider it AU. It’s AU enough anyway lol. 
> 
> Thank you to any and everyone who reads this, I hope it doesn’t suck lol, and thank you to MorningGlory2 for reading this even though she has never seen an episode of this thing in her life :D let me know what you guys think!

It was a night like any other night, until it wasn’t. 

Vegeta was in bed, naked and sated, arms crossed behind his head as he happily dozed and flirted with the sweet sleep that beckoned him closer. He would have had a wonderful night of rest - and a lot less future angst - had Bulma not returned from the bathroom at that point, snuggled up to her husband’s side and, after a few moments of pleasant silence, said, “Hey, Vegeta?”

He merely grunted in reply, still not bothering to open his eyes. 

Bulma’s head was pillowed on his chest, fingertips absently tripping along the perfect planes of his chest as she asked casually, “Does it bother you?”

He furrowed his brows but still didn’t open his eyes. “Does what bother me? I’m not a mind reader, woman.”

“Well... I’ve been thinking lately. You’ve been more... tense than usual, wound up so tight, which I know is kind of your default setting - I mean, sometimes you even make Chi-Chi seem almost chill, but -“

Now Vegeta opened his eyes to glare down at his wife. “I make what!?

“ _ See _ ?” Bulma giggled, and Vegeta’s scowl only deepened. “Oh, lighten up. Seriously though. Does it bother you that you can’t exactly... let go with me?” When he continued to stare at her in naked confusion, Bulma took a breath and went on. “Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate your self control and the fact that you’ve never once hurt me in bed, but I can’t even imagine how frustrating that might get for you sometimes. You’re so strong, so... physical, and you never really get to... ya know... let loose, fully, during sex.”

Vegeta blinked. “Are you worried that I’m somehow dissatisfied with our sexual habits?”

Bulma wrinkled her nose briefly at his choice of words, then shook her head. “No, not dissatisfied exactly. Trust me,” she winked, “I know I rock your world.”

“Then what are you going on about?” Vegeta demanded. He would much rather be asleep right now than dealing with whatever strange conversation this was. 

“All I’m saying,” she replied with a small smile, “is that if you ever feel like maybe you need to, oh I don’t know, blow off some steam and do it with someone who can take all of your strength and not break in half, I wouldn’t be mad at all. I totally understand.”

Vegeta was beyond bewildered by now, his face scrunched up like he’d just tasted something unspeakably sour. “Blow off some - stop speaking in code, woman! What is the meaning of all of this?”

Bulma rolled her eyes and lifted up her head to look at him straight on. “If you ever need a good hard fuck that I can’t give you, I’m giving you permission - actually, I’m encouraging you - to go get it, because I love you and I know you’re a big strong Saiyan and you probably need more than I can give you sometimes.”

Vegeta sat up, his face reddening more and more with each word that left his wife’s mouth. “And who do you propose I get this  _ good hard fuck  _ from, if you don’t mind me borrowing your vulgar phrasing? Because last time I checked we’re on Earth and surrounded by nothing but miserable little weaklings! What you’re suggesting makes no sense!”

Bulma quirked a perfectly arched blue brow and smirked. “Aren’t you forgetting someone? I mean, you just broke a valley in half sparring with Goku earlier, so I’m surprised you’d forget about him that quickly.”

Bulma then watched in slightly giddy amusement as the wheels turned in Vegeta’s head. First his expression turned blank, then confused, then utterly shocked and finally, pure outrage filled his every pore and began rolling off of him in waves that Bulma found hilarious. 

“KAKAROT?!” he screamed, fists clenched and vein about to burst in his forehead. “Your brilliant idea is for me,  _ me _ , the prince of all Saiyans to so debase myself as to even consider to f-“

Bulma’s hands smothered the shouts coming from his mouth as she whisper-screamed back, “If you wake up the kids I’ll cut off your balls and shove them down your throat and this entire conversation will be pointless! Shut up!”

Vegeta fell silent, knowing damn well that Bulma’s wrath over a prematurely woken child was a force to be reckoned with. He glared at her silently until she removed her hands, at which point he seethed, “I will not, nor will I ever, fuck  _ Kakarot _ .”

“Fine,” Bulma shrugged, reaching over to grab her sleep mask from her nightstand. “Don’t. It was just a suggestion, not a command.”

Vegeta crossed his arms and stared angrily at the back of her head as she turned off the light and laid down, her back to him as she let out a long yawn. 

“Besides,” she muttered casually, “I figured Goku would be the one doing the fucking anyway.”

Vegeta’s jaw dropped.

Seconds later, the house rumbled as he let out a deafening roar of pure fury, waking both Trunks and Bulla as Bulma laughed until tears stung her eyes. Vegeta was stuck getting the kids back to bed as Bulma sunk into a happy, dreamless slumber, a slight smile on her mischievous face as her poor husband was left grappling until dawn with the implications of her absurd declarations. 

Needless to say, the prince didn’t get a single wink of sleep all night long. In fact, he was reasonably suspicious that he may never sleep again, and it was all Bulma’s fault. 

—

Immediately following that debacle of the worst pillow talk Vegeta had ever experienced, he abruptly stopped training with Kakarot and refused to provide an explanation as to why, to anyone. He thought that ending all non-essential contact with the other Saiyan would solve the issue - which definitely existed and wasn’t at all a product of his own overreaction - but he was quickly proven wrong. 

Bulma - the blasted woman - began inviting Kakarot over for dinner and game nights and movie nights and whatever other inane sort of nights her brain could conjure, and Kakarot, the giant dimwit, accepted every single invitation with glee. Sometimes he brought his own wife and small brats, other times he didn’t, and during those times when he was alone, Bulma would openly do everything in her power to make Vegeta as uncomfortable as possible. 

She would flirt with Kakarot in increasingly vulgar ways, and Vegeta would sit there barely suppressing the urge to blow up the entire planet while she simply grinned and Kakarot obliviously shoveled food into his face. He clearly had no idea what Bulma was even talking about, and somehow that made him all the more endearing. 

Wait.  _ Endearing _ ?! No, no. Absolutely  _ not _ . He wasn’t - he was annoying, and a massive pain in the ass!  _ That _ was what Kakarot was. 

The woman’s absurdity was simply getting to him, Vegeta reasoned. And yet he soon found out that the worst was yet to come. 

One night, after Vegeta rose from the couch to tend to a crying Bulla after she took a mild tumble, Bulma took that opportunity to lean closer to Kakarot and say, “Hey, Goku - doesn’t Vegeta just have the best ass you’ve ever seen? I mean, look at it. Makes you just wanna sink your teeth in, ya know?”

Vegeta had frozen in panic and quickly swelling rage, about two seconds away from going full Super Saiyan and shooting off into space to find a barren planet to destroy, but then Kakarot had simply laughed and replied, “Haha! Bulma, you crack me up.”

Vegeta then rolled his eyes at the man’s utter ineptitude and then shot Bulma a glare that sent a clear message -  _ stop it or you’ll regret it dearly.  _ She merely winked at him, and while her feistiness and sass were two of the reasons he’d fallen in love with her in the first place, this was simply crossing a line, dammit. 

Then, just when he thought things couldn’t get any worse, Bulma took the children away for the weekend - some scientific sort of retreat or some nonsense, but whatever it was, it gave Vegeta a bit of rare solitude and peace and quiet. (And if he was going stir crazy and missing his little family terribly by the end of the second day without them, well, they didn’t need to know that and he’d never admit to it anyway.) 

After a long day of solitary training and pushing himself as far as he could without an actual sparring partner, Vegeta took a long and luxurious shower and let his mind go blank. He didn’t think about how relieved he was that his little ones would be back in his arms the next day, nor how much he missed his infuriating little blue haired woman. And he definitely, absolutely, positively did not think about how much he missed training with Kakarot every day and how much more mundane and boring his days had become since he’d stopped. 

No, he reasoned as he stepped out of the shower and slapped a towel around his waist, he was doing just fine. He was no lonely, wilting flower fading from a lack of sunlight. That was simply absurd! He was the Prince of all Saiyans, after all! Yes, he resolved as he opened the bathroom door and strode out, he was  _ Vegeta _ and he didn’t need anyone or anything or any -

“Hey, buddy!”

A humiliatingly girlish scream escaping his throat, Vegeta nearly hit the floor as he lifted suddenly wide eyes to find  _ him _ \- Kakarot, that imbecilic bastard - sitting cross legged on his bed and smiling as he waved happily, as if this was a perfectly normal thing to find waiting for him in his own bedroom. 

“Kakarot!” Vegeta yelled after he recovered. “What the hell are you doing in my house? And why are you sitting on my bed?!”

“I’m surprised you didn’t sense me!” Kakarot chuckled, ignoring the questions. “I was just bored at home and thought I’d stop by.”

Vegeta scowled and gestured to the clock next to the bed. “It’s nearly midnight, Kakarot.”

Kakarot glanced over and seemed visibly surprised by the time. “Oh. Wow! I didn’t realIze it was that late. Oops.”

Vegeta sighed and shifted his weight, which caused his towel to shift and start to fall off his hips. He quickly seized it and held it securely in a tight fist, then said through gritted teeth, “Well as you can see, I have no interest in visitors and your timing is terrible as usual. Goodnight.”

He then turned decisively and strode off towards his closet, which he took refuge in long enough to shrug on a pair of shorts and a black tank before turning and walking out of the closet and directly into a larger, rock hard body. 

He was going to raze the entire galaxy. “ _ Kakarot, what the fuck -“ _

“I’m real sorry, Vegeta,” he interrupted, apparently still thinking this entire bizarre encounter was somehow normal. “I didn’t mean to bother you, honest. I’ve just -“

“Well you are bothering me,” Vegeta snapped, pushing past him and vigorously ignoring the heat rising in his cheeks. “The door is that way,” he jerked a thumb across the room, “though I suppose you won’t be needing it.”

He then sat down on the foot of his and Bulma’s bed, and much to his chagrin... Kakarot decided to sit down next to him. 

“Are you mad at me?”

Vegeta blinked and looked up at the ridiculous man to his right. “What?”

“Well,” Kakarot rubbed the back of his neck, Vegeta knowing him well enough to know it meant he was nervous. “I don’t know, but I’m pretty sure you’ve been avoiding me. You don’t spar with me anymore and every time Bulma invites me over you act like you can’t wait until I leave. And I mean, that’s kind of normal for you, but -“

“You’re imagining things, Kakarot,” Vegeta replied, crossing his arms and looking away. “I’ve simply been too busy to deal with you.”

“Oh yeah?”

Vegeta sniffed and nodded solemnly. 

“Whatcha been up to? Anything cool?”

Vegeta’s left eye twitched. “That’s not really any of your business, is it?”

“Guess not.”

Vegeta glanced at his former enemy out of the corner of his eye. “The real question is, why are you here bothering me at this hour? Do you not have a wife to keep warm in bed at home?”

Kakarot shrugged. “She’s got this big fluffy blanket made out of some kind of fur, it gets the job done.”

Vegeta blinked again. “I didn’t mean literally keeping her warm, Kakarot.”

Kakarot blinked back at him, confused. “Well I mean, she’s asleep, so... why would I need to be there?”

Vegeta narrowed his eyes. “How exactly have you managed to produce offspring?”

“Huh?”

“Never mind.”

Vegeta was about to recant those last words and seriously ask Kakarot if he knew how babies were made when he was caught off guard by another question. 

“So you’re not mad at me?”

Vegeta grimaced and rolled his eyes, arms tightening across his chest. “I’m furious at you for invading my home and keeping me awake with this inane conversation but no, Kakarot, I am not angry with you in the general sense. Happy now?”

Kakarot smiled, and it made Vegeta angry because it actually almost sort of nearly made him want to smile too. “Yeah, actually! So does that mean we can get back to sparring? Nobody else is really a challenge for me, you know, and you go way harder than everyone else does and you’re not afraid to make it hurt. You keep me on my toes better than anyone.”

Why the hell was Vegeta shivering?! “Fine,” he relented, just to make the other man shut up and go away. “But only if you leave right now and leave me alone.”

“Sure!” Kakarot agreed happily. “No problem. You’re gonna need your rest if you’re gonna take me on tomorrow.”

Vegeta opened his mouth to snap back but was rendered silent when Kakarot threw an arm around his shoulders in a sudden and unexpected hug. 

A  _ hug _ . 

Half out of instinct and half out of panic, Vegeta grabbed Kakarot by the front of his gi and snarled as he tossed the larger man into a wall that now held a Kakarot-sized dent. “Do not,” he bit out viciously, so close their noses nearly brushed, “hug me, Kakarot.  _ Ever _ .”

“Geez, ‘Geta,” Kakarot said, holding up his hands in surrender, “sorry, I just -“

“Don’t call me that!” Vegeta spat next. “If you addressed me by such silly terms on our home planet you would be punished for your insolence!”

Unbothered as always, Kakarot simply stared at Vegeta for a moment before asking quietly and with all the genuine concern in the world, “Hey, are you okay? You haven’t acted like this in a long time.”

His sudden flare of anger leaving as soon as it had come, Vegeta sighed and let go of him, deflating. He turned away and muttered, “I’m fine. I’m just... I’m tired. Bulma and the children are away and...”

“Aw, you must miss them a lot,” Kakarot said sympathetically, and Vegeta didn’t mind letting that one go. Better for him to think that than to suspect anything else. 

“Yes, unlike some other men I actually enjoy sleeping with my wife.” Why had he even said that? Even he knew he was being a dick for no reason at this point. 

“Yeah,” Kakarot agreed, “I think you’re a better husband than I am. Seems to just come more naturally to you for some reason.”

“Well to be fair,” Vegeta noted, arms crossed again as he stared off, “I wasn’t raised by wolves.”

Kakarot laughed and walked around him, entering into his line of sight. “You know, I tried to kiss Chi-Chi the other day to see what all the fuss was about, and it just... I don’t get it. It was... wet. Kinda gross.”

Vegeta stared at Kakarot, stunned. “Are you serious?” When Kakarot merely shrugged, he turned his nose up and added, “Well clearly you weren’t doing it right.”

“Well, how do you do it right?”

This could not be happening right now. “You just - you - you just do it! Just follow her lead, I’m sure the woman knows how she’d like to be kissed.”

“Actually,” Kakarot cringed a little, “she told me to stop and that I reminded her of a fish. Then she told me to ask someone more experienced for pointers, and not to try again until I knew what I was doing.”

The vein in Vegeta’s forehead was about to burst again. “So you decided to ask me?!”

“Well, first I asked Krillin, then Yamcha and finally Bulma, and she seemed to have the most knowledge but she wouldn’t actually tell me anything. She just told me to ask you and that you’d help me practice.”

“PRACTICE?” Vegeta roared. “She said - what kind of - I will most certainly not - what sort of ridiculous joke even is -“

“Hey calm down!” Kakarot laughed. “All I wanted was just advice, not -“

“I don’t care what you wanted, Kakarot, it’s too late for this,” Vegeta declared. “I told you to leave ten minutes ago and yet here you still are, chattering my ear off.”

“Okay okay, I’ll go,” the other man chuckled. “Didn’t mean to get ya all worked up. I’ll see you tomorrow, okay? Our usual place?”

Vegeta scowled. “Yes, fine, whatever.”

“Awesome! See ya then, ‘Geta!”

He then held two fingertips to his forehead and disappeared. Vegeta would have sagged in relief but instead he stared daggers into the air where Kakarot had stood, wanting nothing more than for the ground to open up and swallow him whole. Unfortunately, however, the sweet release of death continued to evade him. 

“I’m going to kill him,” Vegeta decided. “He’s dead.”

—

_ The next day  _

Crashing back into the side of a small mountain and demolishing it instantly, Vegeta grunted at the impact but quickly grinned as he righted himself and met the gaze of his attacker. “You’re going to pay for that, Kakarot.”

“You’re gonna have to catch me first,” Kakarot grinned back before both men sprung back into action. To a mere mortal they were nothing more than a blur, moving far faster than humanly possible and trading barbs that could take out entire mountains as evidenced only a moment before, and that was why Vegeta couldn’t live without this man. Without Kakarot, life would be boring and hopelessly dull. Who could challenge him like this? Who could spark the sort of feral joy that could only come from this, from taking on someone his equal and fighting until that innate Saiyan bloodlust was sated? 

It had taken a long time for Vegeta to see Kakarot as his equal, to even begin to accept that he might even be better than him, and he’d never say either thing aloud. But he knew it down deep in his soul and in places he didn’t even know existed quite yet. 

Something about this, Vegeta’s subconscious hummed to him as he slammed Kakarot down to the ground with a knee to his stupidly broad chest, was almost similar to what he did with Bulma between the sheets back home. Indeed, that annoying little whisper continued after Kakarot seized him by the ankle and tossed him up towards the sun, both activities followed the same sort of formula - warm up, work up a sweat, don’t stop until that primal need within is satisfied and quieted again. 

He growled and flipped around in the air, then zoomed down back towards his opponent. He was  _ not _ going to think about how sex with his wife was similar to sparring with his - with Kakarot. How absurd. 

And yet, as the two men continued to grapple and make a mess of the valley beneath them - the animals that resided within it had fled in terror an hour ago - the truth of the comparison could not have been more clear. He loved this, craved the release that only Kakarot could truly provide outside of a real battle, and he would have been lying had he claimed to not be aware that it was clearly the same for Kakarot. 

Being the last and also two of the most powerful of their kind, something in their blood  _ sang _ when they connected like this. It was raw and it was real and it was so natural that Vegeta had hardly even noticed it before, until Bulma had started putting all of her crazy ideas into his head. 

_ Damn woman.  _

But his thoughts came to a grinding halt as he found himself suddenly pinned down to the hard earth. His wrists were locked within hard fists and his lower half was held down by the man sitting atop his hips - a part of him wanted to laugh at the indignity of it all - and he looked up to find Kakarot positively gleeful. 

“Gotcha!”

“Bastard!” Vegeta shot back, thrashing beneath him before realizing entirely too late that it was the worst thing he could have done. There was friction and heat and  _ oh God  _ he froze like he’d been burned, going completely still underneath the other man. 

Kakarot’s grip loosened and his grin disappeared at the strange and uncharacteristic surrender. “‘Geta?”

At the sound of that inane little nickname Vegeta growled and threw Kakarot off of him, giving no warning before taking off and slamming Kakarot into a nearby boulder. Kakarot gave an offended little  _ hey!  _ but they quickly fell back into their rhythm. At least until Vegeta began to take it a bit too far and in his mild panic seemed to forget that this was only a friendly spar and not a fight to the death. 

“Vegeta, hey, calm d-“ was the last thing Kakarot managed to get out before taking a ki blast to the chest. He landed on his back on the ground and Vegeta quickly followed, not even thinking twice before straddling him as Kakarot had before and gripping his gi with both hands and yanking him up so that they were face to face. 

Vegeta stared murderously into his rival’s bewildered eyes as Kakarot groaned, “Ow, that hurt. You okay?”

No, he was most certainly not okay but he wasn’t about to admit that anytime soon. Instead Vegeta continued to glare at Kakarot, a low growl in his throat and their mutual heavy breathing the only sounds between them. They were frozen in that moment for entirely too long and Vegeta knew that with each passing second the weaker his excuses for this would be, so he decided to let go and call an end to their day. 

Or at least that’s what he would have done, had Kakarot not chosen that exact moment to look down at Vegeta’s lips before quickly darting back up. Then he licked his own lips, and Vegeta didn’t know if it was sheer lust or something primal and magnetic in their blood that pushed him to make such a terrible decision, but that was when he snapped and crashed their lips together, consequences be damned. 

Vegeta’s eyes stayed shut tightly while Kakarot’s flew open wide, his hands flying up but simply hovering and neither pushing Vegeta off of him nor pulling him closer. Vegeta decided that since he’d already ruined everything he might as well make it worth his while, so to speak, and kissed Kakarot again and again until his eyes closed and his lips relaxed enough for Vegeta to slip his tongue inside. 

That made Kakarot give a sort of squeaky groan that made the fire in Vegeta’s core explode, and he dropped the fabric of Kakarot’s gi to instead grab at his face and tilt his head just so, so he could kiss him the way that he  _ really _ wanted. 

Kakarot felt and tasted nothing like Bulma, nothing like anything Vegeta had ever experienced before. He was hard and hot and clumsy and as confused as Vegeta was, and when they broke apart for air, Vegeta panted against his lips while Kakarot mused, “... Huh. So that’s kissing.”

Vegeta growled and pushed Kakarot down to his back. “No,  _ this _ is kissing.” 

What followed were the most ferocious and hungry kisses Vegeta had ever given in his life, kisses that would have left his wife sore and bleeding. He bit and licked and sucked and gave himself over to his instincts, letting go and  _ doing _ rather than thinking, and to his delight Kakarot did too. He caught on fast - ever the quick learner - and gave as good as he got, his hands eventually finding their way to Vegeta’s hips and pulling him closer. 

That was when Vegeta gasped and pulled away, his reverie broken by the jolt of pleasure the motion caused. He looked down at the man beneath him - hair as disheveled as it ever was, skin dirty and bruised from their fight, lips swollen from their kisses and his eyes... God, his eyes. Vegeta had never seen them so full of this kind of heat. It stroked his ego to know that he had been the one to spark such a fire within him. 

Then, before he could protest, Kakarot surged up and kissed Vegeta hard. He flipped them over, Vegeta hitting the ground with a pleasant thud, and their lips never separated as Kakarot took control and explored the art of kissing within Vegeta’s mouth. 

It was heady, addicting, far better than anything Vegeta might have imagined (and would never admit to). Even though a part of him screamed from within to take the reins back and put Kakarot back in his place, another found the weight of the man strangely soothing and pleasurable. He got lost in their increasingly deep and feral kisses and let his hands wander, first to Kakarot’s shoulders and then down his back, and finally to the nothing short of godly ass he hid under those ugly orange clothes. 

He squeezed the hard muscles and pulled and Kakarot’s breath hitched as he pulled away, staring down at Vegeta as their cocks rubbed against each other through the fabric between them. Kakarot looked down towards their lower halves, then back up at Vegeta with a curious glint in his eye. “That feels good.”

Rather than rolling his eyes and calling him an idiot like he wanted to, Vegeta pulled him back down for another kiss and rolled his hips upwards, making Kakarot gasp into his mouth. “N’you taste good,” Kakarot murmured against his lips before pulling away to bury his nose against the pulse point in Vegeta’s neck. “Mm, smell good too...”

Vegeta closed his eyes and hissed in pleasure as Kakarot nipped and licked at the sensitive spot, their hips moving together and finding a rhythm almost effortlessly. Vegeta’s hands tightened on Kakarot’s ass before loosening and relaxing out of habit, reminding himself to not hurt his lover, but then he remembered who this was and let out a low growl as he tightened his hands and grabbed at him just as hard as he wanted to. 

Dammit, Bulma had been right. She was  _ always _ right. 

Then Kakarot bit Vegeta hard and roused him from his brief daze. He nearly came right then but managed to hold off, grabbing Kakarot by his hair and pulling him back up to his lips before slipping his other hand down and between them. He deftly untied the gi and yanked down Kakarot’s pants as quickly as he could, Vegeta’s gloved hand finding his cock hard and perfect and, damn the stupid specimen, bigger than he’d imagined. 

Vegeta stroked him once, twice, and was amazed when Kakarot made a choking noise and jerked his head up. Three, four times, and Kakarot’s eyes were closed and his mouth open, flushed down to his chest and rutting into Vegeta’s hand, and  _ five _ and  _ six _ and his muscles went rigid as he let out a toe-curling roar and came right on to the fabric covering Vegeta’s right thigh. 

It was an unexpectedly beautiful sight, and one that Vegeta had never expected to see. Kakarot sagged after and dropped his forehead on to Vegeta’s shoulder, and Vegeta couldn’t help but wonder how long it had been since the man had last orgasmed. He didn’t get to ask, however, because the thought left his mind as soon as Kakarot’s hand moved between them and started pulling at Vegeta’s armor, clearly intending to return the favor even as Kakarot panted and was barely recovered from his own release. 

Vegeta didn’t stop him, watching silently until his cock was free and trapped within a large, powerful hand. He shuddered and let out a harsh breath as Kakarot gave him a few experimental strokes, their eyes meeting when Kakarot looked up and asked almost sweetly, “Like that?”

Vegeta nodded, his voice temporarily broken. He reached down and covered Kakarot’s hand with his own, showing him the grip and the speed that he liked, and that was all the instructions Kakarot needed. Their lips met once again in a frantic kiss as Kakarot worked him over, taking to it all like a fish to water, and  _ fuck _ what a shame they’d waited this long to do this. 

It was perfect until Kakarot had to go and open his damn mouth and tell Vegeta while grinning down at him softly, “You’re kinda pretty like this.”

Vegeta opened his eyes to glare daggers at the other man. “Shut up.”

“I mean it,” Kakarot murmured, hand giving a little twist that made Vegeta’s eyes roll back. “I don’t think I ever noticed it before but you’re so damn -“

“Shut. Up. Kakarot,” Vegeta hissed before pulling him down for a harsh kiss. Kakarot laughed into the kiss, the bastard, but he wasn’t laughing for long. All it took was a few more strokes and the hot glide of their tongues together and Vegeta came with a stuttering gasp against Kakarot’s lips. It was glorious, the waves lingering deliciously before they waned and left him breathing hard in their wake, and for a few blessed moments nothing else mattered, 

The beast inside had been sated, both for fighting and for fucking, and Vegeta couldn’t imagine a more peaceful feeling. 

He only stirred and bothered to open his eyes when he felt a curious tongue on his belly, lapping away the mess from his abs. His eyes widened at the unexpectedly filthy display from his - friend? rival? lover?  _ ugh _ \- and he couldn’t help but ask, “Kakarot, what are you -“

Kakarot blushed as he looked up, giving a shrug. “I was curious, that’s all.”

Vegeta groaned and dropped his head back on the ground beneath him. This... this  _ dimwit _ was going to be the death of him. 

He let Kakarot handle the task of getting them back to semi-presentable status, and once they were as clean as they were gonna get and fully redressed, they sat next to each other on the ground in silence that Kakarot was the first to break. 

“So... um...”

Vegeta could  _ hear _ him rubbing the back of his neck. “There is no need to discuss anything, Kakarot.”

“Are you sure? Because -“

“Yes, I am positive.”

“Well... it’s just...”

“Just consider it the practice my ridiculous wife told you I would provide,” Vegeta rolled his eyes, crossing his arms and forcing his nonchalance.

“Oh. Yeah, that makes sense I guess,” Kakarot chuckled uneasily. 

Vegeta turned his head to find Kakarot sitting there nervously, blushing up a storm and biting his lip, the very picture of anxiety. “Oh, would you pull yourself together, Kakarot? Sex between warriors is hardly a novel concept.”

“It is for me,” Kakarot shrugged. “But yeah, you’re right I guess.”

Vegeta sniffed. “Though I wouldn’t recommend sharing with that wife of yours.”

Kakarot looked up in confusion. “Why not?”

Vegeta blinked. 

Kakarot blinked. 

“Please tell me you’re joking, Kakarot.”

“.... No?”

Vegeta groaned and got to his feet. “Never mind. Now if you don’t mind, I’ll be on my way.”

“Yeah, sure,” Kakarot smiled, rising to his feet as well. “Thanks for the... the uh... the good time! I mean - not just the - but the fight too - although the - the other thing was also g -“

Vegeta shut him up with a fierce kiss that neither of them saw coming, least of all Vegeta. He had no idea what he was doing anymore. After he pulled away, he grinned at Kakarot’s bewildered expression and murmured, “You’re far cuter when you shut up.”

Then, before Kakarot could even begin to figure out a reply, Vegeta was flying away at breakneck speed back towards his and Bulma’s home. He needed a shower - maybe two - and perhaps even a good stiff drink or twenty. 

—

Later that night, after Bulma and the children returned home, Vegeta greeted them at the door and smiled happily as his children all but mauled him with glee. He hugged and squeezed each little spawn of his and then, once they ran off to get into whatever mischief happened to strike their fancy, he allowed Bulma to throw herself into his arms next. 

“Believe it or not, I missed you tons while we were gone,” she sighed as she pulled away and smiled at her husband. 

“Oh trust me, I have no doubts as to that,” he smirked back, and she grinned until she seemed to... notice something. She tilted her head and seemed to see straight through him, which of course made Vegeta’s eyes widen in alarm. “What?”

Her lips curled up into a knowing grin. “Well, well, well.”

Words could not describe just how uncomfortable Vegeta was. “What?! What are you staring at, woman?”

She poked him in the chest. “You went and got yourself a piece of Goku, didn’t you?”

He nearly fell over where he stood. Instead his jaw dropped and his face turned as red as a raspberry. “What do you - how could - what are you even s - I did not -“

“Oh, shh,” Bulma cooed, patting his cheek. “Calm down, big guy. I’m proud of you.”

His left eye twitched and that vein was bulging in his forehead again, but Bulma paid it all no mind as she kissed his cheek and then leaned in and whispered into his ear, “Let’s put the kids to bed early tonight so we can go to our room and... you can tell me every last little detail of what happened between you two. I’m wet just thinking about it.”

She pulled away with a smirk, and Vegeta could only stare at her and murmur breathlessly, “Vulgar woman.”

She winked and slinked past him. “Always.”

He gulped hard. What the hell had he gotten himself into this time?! The woman was utterly incorrigible, and such a filthy mind!

But... then again... she did have a rather... intriguing idea.

_ Damn her.  _

“Trunks! Bulla!” he called as he spun on his heel and strode off towards the kids’ rooms with renewed purpose. “Time for bed! Right now!”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bulma tricks Goku & Vegeta into a romantic date. Things happen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys so much for the feedback on the first part of this! I don’t think I’ve ever gotten comments welcoming me to a new fandom before, so that made me especially all warm and fuzzy :) thank you guys so much, you’re all awesome! Hope you enjoy this unexpected part 2 that I tried very hard not to write but ended up knocking out anyway lol :D

It had been painfully naive to think that just the one strange...  _ incident _ would have been the end of the matter, and that everything would instantly revert back to normal. The problem was, Vegeta realized this entirely too late. Far too late. 

Despite his best efforts to forget the taste of Kakarot’s mouth and how hot and hard he’d felt in his hand, Vegeta found himself thinking of little else in the weeks that followed but he chose to blame Bulma for that. The woman would not  _ shut up  _ about it, and even more alarmingly, she couldn’t keep her hands off of Vegeta ever since it had happened. 

Their sex life was healthy and bountiful as it was - Vegeta took immeasurable pride in keeping his woman satisfied - but somehow, having fucked around with Kakarot had kicked her sex drive into turbo gear. 

“It’s not weird at all!” Bulma explained breathlessly one night in bed, the sheets torn and both of them nearing their limits of how much pleasure they could handle. “Think of it this way - wouldn’t it be hot to watch me with another woman?”

Vegeta stared blankly at Bulma as she waggled her blue brows. “I don’t understand.”

“Watching me fuck another woman - wouldn’t you find that hot?”

His brows furrowed. “Is that some sort of joke?”

She tilted her head in confusion. “... No?”

“Why would I be interested in witnessing any bastard regardless of their gender molesting  _ my _ mate?”

She blinked, making a slight face. “Well I mean… when you put it like that -“

“You are  _ mine _ , woman,” he declared, his tone gravelly as he pushed her down to her back and slid on top of her, between her legs. “I would cut off the limbs of any fool who would  _ dare _ to touch you as I do.”

She bit her lip and grinned, clearly turned on by Vegeta’s possessive streak. “Oh yeah? What if I screwed around with Goku like you did? Would he be okay?”

Vegeta growled low and primal at the mere thought, leaning in close and seething, “I would sever his cock and feed it to the wolves.”

Bulma giggled at the violent imagery. “But I thought you liked that cock. You said it felt so good and hard in your hand and that his come was so hot and -“

He growled again and pinned her hands to the bed above her head. “No more of your filthy words, woman,” he commanded before kissing her into a frenzy that didn’t stop until they’d both come twice more. 

Despite Vegeta’s inability to relate to that particular kink of hers, he didn’t question her devotion to him or why she was so riveted by the idea of him bedding Kakarot. He simply wrote it off as his wife being her (deliciously) vulgar self, and he was also quietly relieved that she didn’t want to play around with any others herself. Imagining Kakarot touching her was enough to make Vegeta see red and experience the overwhelming urge to break an entire planet. 

Imagining Kakarot touching  _ him _ again, however… that was a far more pleasant thought, and therefore one that he fought with all the strength that he could muster. 

Except Bulma kept making that impossible for him. 

“Oh guess what,” she told him casually one evening over drinks in their lounge after the kids had gone to bed. “I talked to Chi-Chi earlier.”

He sipped at the drink that she’d made him, a dark amber concoction of some kind with just enough sweetness to make it bearable. “And?”

“ _ And _ ,” she mocked his disinterested tone, “you would not believe what she told me.”

He rolled his eyes. “Please, enlighten me before I die of suspense.”

She quirked a brow. “So Goku apparently started acting really weird a few weeks ago. Right after you and him had your… y’know… thing.” She grinned as Vegeta choked a little on his drink. “Anyway, he started acting really nervous all the time and like he was hiding something.”

Vegeta’s stomach tightened and he knew he looked exceptionally constipated as he stared at his wife, but he could hardly help it.  _ But at least the fool had presumably figured out what infidelity was.  _

“So Chi-Chi, she figured it has to do with training or some new enemy, something along those lines. She kept asking him and asking him but he wouldn’t give her a straight answer until - get this - she was taking a bath in the morning like a week ago and he just randomly came running into the house from outside where he’d been sparring with Gohan, and he just basically screamed at her, ‘I THINK I CHEATED ON YOU WITH VEGETA BUT I DIDN’T MEAN TO, PLEASE DON’T BE MAD AT ME’.”

Vegeta stared at Bulma in silent, frozen horror. 

“So they talked it out,” she shrugged, taking a casual sip of her own cocktail. “He gave her all the details, and I mean  _ all _ the details. Then one thing led to another, and it turns out… they’ve been banging like rabbits ever since, to the point where she can hardly even take it anymore.”

Vegeta had gone very pale at some point, but now the color was returning to his cheeks with a vengeance. His brain was flashing with appallingly vivid images, each more debauched than the next and each one stoking a strange feeling within him that he couldn’t quite place. Imagining Kakarot naked and fucking his little firecracker of a wife made him… angry? Nauseous? No, not that… it made him…  _ oh no _ . 

It made him feel jealous. 

Delicate, manicured fingers snapped in his face. “Hello? Earth to Vegeta!”

“I’m listening, woman!” Vegeta snapped, face on fire as he tried to contain his inner horror. 

“Anyway,” Bulma went on, “apparently she’s walking with a limp now and she told me, and I quote, ‘I don’t care if he sleeps with Vegeta every now and then as long as it means a full night of sleep for me and a chance to get my hips working properly again’. So, there you have it - permission from Chi-Chi herself to screw Goku to your little heart’s content, because apparently you awakened a sleeping dragon.” She paused. “A sex dragon.”

The glass in Vegeta’s gloved hand suddenly shattered, making Bulma yelp in surprise while Vegeta didn’t so much as blink. “I think I’m going to be sick.”

Cleaning bots scurried across the floor to clean up the mess he’d made as Bulma furrowed her brows with concern. “Really? What’s wrong? Was it the drink? I can get you some water or -“

Vegeta shook his head, cheeks aflame and heart pounding and  _ ugh _ , his palms were sweating. If he had to guess what his problem was, it was likely the disturbing jealousy he was feeling combined with a sense of panic over his and Kakarot’s secret no longer being contained to the two of them and Bulma. Now that Chi-Chi knew and  _ was somehow okay with it _ , it made the whole thing feel unbearably and undeniably real. 

“Oh,” Bulma seemed to realize with a sympathetic smile, “you’re freaking out. It’s okay, honey.” She rubbed at his knee soothingly. “Really. Chi-Chi’s not gonna tell anyone, she’s super private. She only told me because I’m your wife.”

“That’s not going to stop Kakarot from running his idiotic mouth,” Vegeta grumbled, the line of his mouth tightening at the sudden horrible thought of Kakarot chatting with the Namek or, even worse, that crotchety old perverted fool on the island, about their little tryst. Kakarot was absolutely stupid and strange enough to do just that, after all. 

“Well, maybe you should talk to him,” Bulma shrugged. “You haven’t seen him since that day, have you?”

“No and I have no intention of seeing him anytime soon,” Vegeta declared. “The longer before I have to see his ridiculous face again, the better.” After catching a glimpse of Bulma’s knowing smile, he spat, “ _ What?!” _

“Nothing, honey,” she smiled sweetly. “Wanna go to bed?”

His frown deepened, but anything sounded better than continuing to sit here and wish the ground would swallow him whole. “Fine, but no more talk of Kakarot.”

“‘Kay.”

“I mean it, woman.”

She winked. “You’re the boss.”

His eyes narrowed, but she only smiled and stood up to sashay off to their room. Vegeta’s jaw hit the floor when she dropped her dress along the way, revealing absolutely nothing underneath. 

She looked cheekily over her shoulder and grinned. “Coming, my prince?”

_ Well _ , he thought vaguely as he clenched his jaw and followed after her like a dying man to water,  _ at least this will distract me from that fool _ . 

And if it didn’t, well, he wasn’t about to admit that any time soon. 

—

Vegeta had one more week of peace before everything went to hell again. It wasn’t some new crisis or enemy - no, that would have been far preferable to the debacle that Bulma personally engineered, seemingly with the intent to torment Vegeta as much as she possibly could. 

She tricked him into having a romantic dinner date with Kakarot. Alone. With candles and dreadfully soft music to boot.  _ The indignity of it all.  _

At first she’d claimed that it would be a dinner party for all of her -  _ their _ \- closest friends, which was horrid enough but nothing out of the ordinary. Vegeta had no reason to suspect any subterfuge until mere minutes before the supposed “party”, when Bulma pretended to suddenly remember a beach vacation she’d promised to take the children and their grandparents on, and she quite literally jetted off with said family members before even the first guest had arrived. 

The first (and only) guest being Kakarot, who was dressed more bizarrely than Vegeta had ever seen from him before. He was also blushing and stammering like an idiot, and that was when it all clicked and Vegeta realized what his blasted wife had done. 

God, he might actually kill her this time. 

Vegeta opened his mouth to tell Kakarot to get lost but before he could so much as twitch a brow, Kakarot caught sight of the enormous spread on the table behind Vegeta and that was it, any chance of shooing him away was gone. 

Dinner was, thankfully, a mostly quiet affair. Kakarot tried to chat here and there around his grotesquely massive mouthfuls of food, but Vegeta told him to can it and focused on inhaling his own comically large portions. If he could just get through this damn meal, he reasoned, then he could kick the fool out immediately after and be done with the whole thing. He’d prove to his insufferable wife that her interventions were quite unneeded and that his strange little…  _ whatever _ with Kakarot was a one time thing and nothing that needed repeating. 

He almost believed that, at least until their dinner was gone and Kakarot had somehow managed to persuade him to sit down with him on the sofa. He didn’t even know how it happened, the whole thing a blur as Kakarot had grabbed his arm and pulled him there, Vegeta catching a whiff of something… warm and spicy and…  _ was that cologne?!  _ On _ Kakarot?! _

His clothes were strange, too. A crisp rich blue button down shirt - top buttons undone - and fine black trousers, even nice leather shoes. The man was clearly dressed as if for a date, and Vegeta knew damn well that it was somehow Bulma’s fault. He’d never seen Kakarot in anything so decent and well-fitted before, but then again he’d never smelled cologne on him either. He had probably even run a comb through his stupid mop of hair. 

And so Vegeta sat on the far right corner of the couch, arms crossed and glare fixed stubbornly on the wall across from them. Kakarot, meanwhile, decided to sit as close to Vegeta as humanly fucking possible,  _ and _ threw his arm over the back of the couch behind his head. 

Vegeta was going to break his neck. 

“So,” Kakarot chirped, tone one of forced casualness, “that was sure a great dinner. Thanks for having me!”

Vegeta scoffed, glare still fully intact. “Thank Bulma. I didn’t invite you.”

“Oh, right,” Kakarot chuckled. “Guess I’ll have to thank her when I see her next.”

Vegeta stayed silent, not minding the awkward quiet that settled over them. Anything was better than confronting the elephant in the room, after all. 

“So,” Kakarot tried again. “You, uh…. you look... nice tonight.”

Vegeta almost turned his glare on Kakarot but held himself back at the last minute. His brain misfired several times before he retorted with, “Yes, and you look like an absolute buffoon as usual.” His frown tightened, a small wince at his own words. Why oh why did he have to be like this all the time? Even Vegeta found himself exhausting at times.

Kakarot looked down at himself, suddenly nervous. “Really? I thought this was…. I was just doing what B- I mean, I was just… I thought this was all right.”

“I forgot you’re an authority on fashion.”  _ Shut up, you stupid prince of all morons! _

“Well I mean, you’re one to talk,” Kakarot shot back good naturedly. “Remember that pink shirt?”

Vegeta growled and finally turned his glare on Kakarot, finding their faces way  _ way _ too close. “I only wore that blasted thing because I had nothing else! If you want to blame someone for it, blame Bulma!”

Kakarot simply grinned in that way that made Vegeta feel weirdly warm inside. “I was just teasing. I kinda liked it on you.”

Vegeta’s face burning, he turned away and crossed his arms even tighter. “Hmph. Don’t bullshit me, Kakarot, you’re a pitiful liar.”

“I’m not lying!” Kakarot insisted. “Honestly, you look good in everything, all the time.”

Vegeta was going to scream if he paid him one more bizarre compliment. “If you’re done kissing my ass, you can be on your way now.”

“Already?” Kakarot pouted, his entire face falling while Vegeta pretended to be unbothered by the sight. “But we haven’t even…”

“Haven’t even what?” Vegeta snapped. “What do you want, Kakarot?”

Kakarot looked down and swallowed, clearly thinking through his words before speaking them for once. “Well, I just… I kinda wanted to talk about… y’know. Last time?”

Vegeta clenched his jaw. “There’s nothing to talk about.”

Kakarot scratched behind his head. “I don’t know, I kinda think there is. You haven’t said a word to me since then and - “

“I said no, you idiot!” Vegeta blurted, standing suddenly and needing to put distance between the two of them before he did something stupid like choke him to death or kiss him until they both suffocated. “I will discuss nothing of it!”

“Why?” Kakarot demanded, getting to his feet and shooting Vegeta a glare of his own. Vegeta loathed the fact that he had to look up to properly meet his gaze. “My wife doesn’t care and I know for a fact that Bulma’s fine with it too, so why are you acting like this?”

“Because!” Vegeta all but exploded, Kakarot stiffening at the sudden furious shift in his ki. “Because,  _ Kakarot _ ,” he spat the name like a curse, “I am sick of you consuming every single part of my life!”

“ _ What _ ?”

“Ever since the day I stepped foot on this godforsaken mudball you’ve done nothing but make my life a living hell!” Vegeta roared. “I’m always a step behind you, you win the battles that I can’t, your stupid friends adore you even though they die waiting for you to show up to your own fights, and where does that leave me? I’m supposed to be the best of our race and here you are,” he began advancing on Kakarot, “a fucking third class imbecile with more power than I’ve ever dreamed of, and I fucking hate you for it!”

He slammed Kakarot to the wall, nearly putting him straight through it, and he pulled him down by his collar to bring him to eye level as he seethed lowly, “So  _ that _ is why I hate myself for wanting you the way I do. Happy now,  _ Kakarot _ ?”

Kakarot stared back with wide, bewildered, beautiful eyes for a long moment before whimpering, “God, ‘Geta, you’re so hot,” and suddenly pulling the shorter man into a kiss that took his breath away. 

Vegeta melted into the kiss for one embarrassingly long moment, the taste of Kakarot’s mouth flooding his senses and leaving him feeling drunk until he came to his senses and shoved him back. Then he punched Kakarot right in the face, making Kakarot’s head jerk to the side and a cry of pain leave his mouth. But then… then the bastard simply grinned and turned his gaze back to Vegeta before leaning forward to claim his lips again. 

So Vegeta punched him again. This time Kakarot caught his fist in his palm, and thus kicked off an inelegant but heated and frantic fight that Vegeta would later marvel at the sheer idiocy of. They exchanged blows and grappled at each other in between stolen, brutal kisses, dancing on some strange line of violence and desire as they instinctively made their way into Vegeta’s bedroom, neither of them even realizing it until Vegeta shoved Kakarot down on the bed and straddled his hips. 

Biting down on Kakarot’s lower lip hard enough to draw blood, he ripped his ridiculous blue shirt open and sent the buttons flying all around the room. Then he straightened up to admire the trickle of blood sliding down Kakarot’s chin, grinning as he slid his hands up that massive chest and squeezed. “You’re finally where you belong, Kakarot,” he purred. “Bleeding underneath me.”

Kakarot gave a short but exhilarated laugh. “We’ll see about that,” he retorted, and one small wrestling match later, Vegeta was the one shirtless and on his back. He found that he didn’t even mind - he was too consumed by that strange passion between them, the primal electricity that surged whenever they touched, as if they’d always been somehow meant for this. 

It was utter nonsense, but fuck if it wasn’t intoxicating. 

Kakarot kissed him hard and ground down against him, the same frantic energy from their first time even more intense this time, and Vegeta didn’t think twice about slipping his hands up and under Kakarot’s open shirt and biting his short nails into his back. Kakarot moaned into his mouth, murmuring against his lips, “You feel so good…”

Hearing his voice like that, low and full of lust, and looking up into his dark eyes to find them dazed with desire… it was better than any drug, Vegeta was sure. His pride soared at making Kakarot tremble the way that he was, making him rut against him like an animal in heat, his brain distantly recalling Bulma saying how Vegeta had awoken a sleeping dragon within Kakarot. 

He wanted to test that theory and see for himself just how serious Kakarot was about all of this. 

Vegeta flipped them over again, using lightly ki-charged hands to rip Kakarot’s clothes to shreds. In seconds he was lying fully naked at Vegeta’s mercy, and Vegeta inwardly decided it was something he could certainly get used to. It was always such a miserable and sometimes futile struggle to best Kakarot in battle, but maybe this was one area where Vegeta could emerge the undeniable winner. 

He stood up from the bed long enough to take off his own clothes, eyes never leaving Kakarot’s as the younger Saiyan sat up on his elbows to watch. He surely had no idea how absolutely delectable he looked, that inherent innocence within him contrasted by the growing wild hunger in his eyes, and Vegeta couldn’t wait to wreck him. 

“Stay down,” he told Kakarot, sliding back on the bed and pushing him back down. Kakarot went down without protest for once, and the two men shared a sloppy and slightly brutal kiss before Vegeta began a slow, exploratory journey down Kakarot’s body. 

This was what had been missing last time - the chance to take his time and make every touch count, the freedom of being able to do whatever the fuck they wanted for as long as they wanted. Vegeta learned Kakarot’s body in an entirely new way as he kissed and touched all over, discovering through a breathless giggle that his ribs were ticklish and, more importantly, his nipples were astoundingly sensitive. It seemed to be a surprise to Kakarot himself, and the idea of Vegeta discovering something about the man that his own wife must not know - the thought alone nearly made him moan out loud like some kind of wretched whore. 

After thoroughly tormenting him with this newfound knowledge, Vegeta finally took mercy and slid downwards until he was nestled between massive parted thighs. He looked up into Kakarot’s eyes as he took his now-painfully hard cock in his hand, stroking him so slow it was nearly cruel. Kakarot whined and watched through hooded eyes, whimpering Vegeta’s name and squirming, searching for more, more, more. 

“Such a greedy thing you are, Kakarot,” Vegeta grinned, watching his abs clench and tense before relaxing over and over. “And impatient.”

“ _ ‘Geta _ ,” he whined, the inane nickname doing things to Vegeta that he’d never admit. His grip became stronger and he sped up just enough to make Kakarot moan, a few drops of pre-come gathering on his tip as a reward. Vegeta eyed it curiously before instinct took over and he leaned forward, licking it off and making Kakarot gasp and shudder beneath him. 

He glanced up to find Kakarot staring at him wide eyed and beautiful -  _ beautiful? ugh fuck he was losing it  _ \- and that was when Vegeta decided to throw him one last smirk before swallowing him whole. 

“Oh my God,  _ Vegeta _ , you -  _ oh _ ,” Kakarot stammered breathlessly, head thumping back on the pillow as Vegeta learned his way around his cock. He wasn’t small and wasn’t exactly easy to suck off but Vegeta enjoyed absurdly challenging things, after all, and this was no different. The ache in his jaw was more than worth it thanks to the way Kakarot writhed and groaned underneath him, reaching down and sliding his hands in flame-shaped hair before grasping the sheets instead, then pulling at his own hair restlessly, unable to do anything but get lost in the heat of his rival’s mouth. 

And Vegeta, for his part, was so damn high on a power trip he was dizzy with it. Kakarot was entirely submitted to him, completely useless in his hands, and Vegeta could have killed him right then without breaking a sweat. He could do anything he wanted, in fact, and while he harbored no desire to actually harm or kill Kakarot - not anymore, anyway - just the mere fact that he held such power in that moment was more satisfying than anything he’d felt in ages. 

It was why he didn’t stop bobbing his head and sucking hard when Kakarot began panting and tensing, instead doubling his efforts and making Kakarot come in his mouth with a choked-off cry that might have made the windows rattle a bit in its force. Vegeta, not terribly experienced in the art of blow jobs, choked himself a bit and made a mess but he found that he couldn’t have possibly cared less. He’d just turned the strongest man in the world into a whimpering, useless fool with only his mouth, and  _ fuck _ it felt good. 

He leaned over Kakarot with a self-satisfied smirk, watching him catch his breath and recover. Once Kakarot’s eyes opened and focused on him, Kakarot smirked back and reached up, pulling him down for a filthy kiss. 

Kakarot groaned into his mouth. “Oh God, you taste like…”

“Mm,” Vegeta hummed, too busy licking into the other man’s mouth to form real words. Kakarot’s hands found his sides and roamed down to his hips, then grasped at his ass as they kissed like starving men. Vegeta rocked his own hardness into Kakarot’s thigh, his own arousal suddenly unbearable now that his distraction from it was over, and he didn’t fight it when Kakarot flipped him over on his back one more time. 

Rather than devour him immediately, however, Kakarot simply stared down at Vegeta with a small smile, his expression seemingly… soft. It made Vegeta blush and squirm uncomfortably, spitting out, “What are you looking at?”

Kakarot’s smile grew as he shook his head. “Nothing. Sorry. You’re just…”

Vegeta scowled, cheeks burning. “I’m  _ what _ ?!”

“Really, really hot,” Kakarot finally shrugged, kissing Vegeta into silence before he could protest at being called such a thing. It was ridiculous, of course, but Vegeta hardly cared at the present time. He was far more concerned about other matters, like the way that Kakarot’s hands were slowly mapping out his body, returning the favor and turning the attention all on to him. 

But Vegeta considered himself the sort who liked to get to the point, so when Kakarot was simply taking too long, he grasped the other man’s hand himself and placed it right over his cock where he wanted it. Kakarot chuckled into their kiss, pulling away a few inches to note, “Who’s impatient now?”

“Shut up,” Vegeta growled, about to berate him more when Kakarot’s fist started moving and rendered him silent. He sighed instead and pulled his head back down, the taste of his mouth proving strangely addicting. Then again, everything about this was so strangely alluring and intoxicating, and Vegeta was no closer to understanding any of it than he had been the first time. He decided to leave that for later, though, opting instead to close his eyes and enjoy the sensations of Kakarot’s mouth on his neck and his hand slowly jerking him off. 

His neck boasted 3 new bruises when Kakarot’s hand left his cock to trail further down, and Vegeta thought he was merely teasing until he just…. didn’t stop. Vegeta’s eyes opened at the distinct feeling of a curious finger slipping between his cheeks, and he looked up to find Kakarot blushing and biting his lip. 

Vegeta’s eyes narrowed. “Do you know what you’re doing?”

Blush deepening, Kakarot rubbed his finger in experimentally gentle little circles as he replied, “Bulma told me you like this.”

“Did she.”

Kakarot nodded. “She said it’s one of your favorite things.”

Vegeta glared at Kakarot just long enough to make him nervous. But before he could apologize and pull his hand back, Vegeta threw out his arm and, without breaking eye contact, opened a bedside drawer and rummaged for a second or two before producing a bottle of lube. He popped the cap open and raised a brow, prompting Kakarot to hold out his hand. Mere seconds later, two slick fingers were teasing at him and Vegeta was shuddering beneath the other man, widening his legs to give him more room and urge him on. Kakarot, it turned out, didn’t need any further encouragement. 

The first finger slipped inside gently but confidently, moving slowly as Kakarot gave him time to adjust and relax into the touch. But Vegeta hardly needed any time at all, growling  _ more, give me more, _ long before Kakarot would have expected it. Another finger joined the first, and Vegeta let out a moan that painted an unbearably smug smile on Kakarot’s stupid face. God, how he hated him. 

Kakarot looked down to watch his fingers move in and out, murmuring quietly, “Now, let’s see… Bulma said there’s a spot I gotta aim for, and that I’ll know it when I find it. She said if I go in deep and move my fingers like  _ this _ \- “

Vegeta’s entire body quaked and he let out an unexpected shout, and Kakarot feared that he’d hurt him until he saw the look of sheer pleasure on his face. He chuckled. “I think I found it.”

“Shut up and do it more,” Vegeta demanded, and Kakarot was all too happy to oblige. He fucked him with his fingers, marveling at how much Vegeta seemed to revel in it, rolling his hips down on his hand to get even more, and it was a sight Kakarot knew he’d never forget. 

“Vegeta,  _ fuck _ ,” Kakarot growled, and Vegeta’s eyes popped open to stare at him in wonder. He’d never heard Kakarot say such a vulgar word before. They stared at each other with open, damn near feral hunger in their eyes until their lips crashed together once again, almost brutal in their ferocity. 

“Kakarot,” Vegeta gasped out between kisses, “fuck me. Now, Kakarot,  _ do it _ .”

Kakarot cursed again - the sound was like sweet music to Vegeta’s ears - and within a few fumbling seconds his fingers were replaced by the head of his again-hard cock. They didn’t bother changing positions and that was fine with Vegeta, as was anything that got Kakarot inside of him faster. 

But Kakarot, damn him, paused and looked down at Vegeta, uncertain. “You sure this is okay?”

“If you don’t fuck me this instant, Kakarot,” Vegeta seethed, eyes wild, “I will rip out your throat with my teeth.”

Kakarot smiled. “Ouch. Okay, just making sure.”

Vegeta opened his mouth to insult him, but he was silenced and his breath was taken by the cock slowly pressing inside of him. It felt bigger than Vegeta expected, freezing and tensing up for a second or two until he remembered to breathe and welcome the sensation rather than fight it. It wasn’t the easiest thing he’d ever done but he did it, breathing evenly and keeping his body utterly relaxed until Kakarot was all the way inside. 

“Oh my God, that’s  _ tight _ ,” Kakarot gasped, holding himself up over Vegeta with shaky arms. “Feels like you’re strangling me. Never felt anything like it…”

_ There _ was that surge of pride that Vegeta enjoyed so much. He smirked as they each caught their breath, then slid his hands down to Kakarot’s ass and squeezed hard as he demanded softly, “Move, Kakarot.”

He complied instantly, rocking slowly and gently at first, easing them into the overwhelming sensations. Kakarot’s brow was furrowed and sweat was dripping down his temples, his self control clearly straining under the urge to snap and simply fuck him into the mattress, but Vegeta knew that he would never. Not Kakarot. And he was right. 

He only snapped and started fucking him into oblivion once they were both fully adjusted and in control. And once he did, Vegeta found that it took all of his will and determination not to scream in ecstasy like a terrible Earthling porn star. 

That primal thrill hit new highs, wrapping around them and propelling them into an experience that was entirely new for them both. It was in their blood, their very bones, and it came as naturally as throwing a fist or channeling their ki. Vegeta didn’t even protest when Kakarot unexpectedly pulled out and flipped him over, yanking him up by his hips and plunging back in to fuck even more hoarse, blissful moans out of his mouth. He hadn’t even known he was capable of making those sorts of sounds until that night. 

Not long ago Vegeta had questioned whether Kakarot fully understood how sex worked, but tonight Kakarot was fucking him deeply and savagely and erasing any doubts that may have remained. He gave Vegeta everything he wanted, harsh and punishing thrusts that would have broken a normal human in half, hitting that perfect spot within him that made him feel like he was shattering in the very best way. And strangest of all, Vegeta felt safe and secure in Kakarot’s arms, surrounded by that larger body and the stifling heat radiating from his skin. He trusted him in a way that he’d never trusted another man, and it was both exhilarating and terrifying. 

“ _ God, ‘Geta _ ,” Kakarot panted into Vegeta’s ear, hand snaking beneath him to grasp his neglected cock and start stroking fast, “ _ I’m gonna - Vegeta, I’m _ -“

“Do it,” Vegeta gasped out, on the edge of heaven himself, “come inside me, Kakarot.”

Kakarot obeyed with a bone-deep roar that set Vegeta off right with him, the two men clinging together and seeing stars burst behind their eyes as they wrung out every last shock of pleasure between them. They both collapsed after, spent and panting as they hit the abused mattress. Kakarot was sprawled heavily over Vegeta’s back and he didn’t even care at first - he couldn’t bear to end the connection between them, not yet. 

Eyes closed and cheek pressed to the lower corner of the pillow he’d fallen on, Vegeta enjoyed the pleasant haze humming through his mind and making him feel almost like he was floating. But eventually, the spell was broken by Kakarot finally sliding off of him to lay on his back next to Vegeta, proclaiming after taking a deep breath, “Holy crap! That was amazing!”

Vegeta groaned and rolled his eyes. He felt like he was half dead, in the best way - how did Kakarot sound so chipper already?

“Have you done that before? Because I haven’t done that before and I thought it might be weird but oh boy, that was - I don’t even have the words!”

Gritting his teeth, Vegeta turned over to his back and let out a long sigh. Kakarot rolled to his side, facing Vegeta and propping his head up on his hand and smiling brightly. 

“So? Have you?”

Vegeta eyed him wearily. “Have I what, Kakarot?”

“Done that before.”

Vegeta paused. “.... Only with Bulma.”

Kakarot’s head tilted like a confused dog. “But she’s... a girl.”

“She’s a  _ woman _ ,” Vegeta corrected, “and there are… devices that can be used.”

Vegeta’s cheeks started burning as Kakarot only became more visibly confused. “Devices? Like one of her inventions?”

“No, you jackass,” Vegeta snapped. “Have you never heard of a fucking strap on?”

“.... No? What’s a strap…. oh! Strap on meaning like -“ he gestured vaguely with his hands and Vegeta wanted to die. “A wiener that the woman can wear?”

Vegeta’s face shifted from furiously embarrassed to utterly blank. “Get out of my bed.”

“What? Why?”

“I refuse to share a bed with an idiot who’s so painfully juvenile as to use words like  _ wiener _ . What are you, 12? Trunks is more sophisticated than you! Fucking hell, I can’t believe I just let you fuck me.”

Vegeta crossed his arms and glared at the ceiling while Kakarot burst out laughing. “Aw, come on, Vegeta! I just didn’t know how else to put it. Not all of us were raised in a palace and learned super fancy vocabularies, ya know.”

Vegeta turned his glare on Kakarot. “It doesn’t take a ‘super fancy vocabulary’ to say ‘penis’ instead of ‘wiener’. Even cock or dick would have been better.”

“It’s just a word,” Kakarot exclaimed breathlessly. “Who cares?”

Vegeta scoffed. “Not you, clearly.”

“So what? You didn’t seem to mind when I had my cock in you.” A flash of heat raced down Vegeta’s spine, and Kakarot seemed to know somehow because he then grinned and added, “Ah, okay, so you like it when I talk all dirty. I can work with that.”

Vegeta tightened his arms and went back to staring a hole into the ceiling. “Doubtful.”

A warm, curious hand was suddenly on Vegeta’s inner thigh and venturing upwards, and he felt hot breath on his ear as Kakarot murmured, “Shouldn’t underestimate me, ‘Geta. Especially now that I’m starting to get an idea of what you like.”

Kakarot’s hand still roaming and teasing, Vegeta turned his head to look him dead on. “You think too highly of yourself, Kakarot. Perhaps you only got lucky. It wouldn’t be the first time.”

Kakarot hummed, glancing down with amusement when his fingers found Vegeta’s cock already stirring to life once more. “Hm. Maybe we should test that theory.”

Vegeta grinned devilishly. “I’m not sure you could handle it.”

“That a challenge?”

Vegeta then pushed Kakarot down to his back and climbed on top of him once more. “Consider it more of an order,” he mused as he leaned down. “From your Prince.”

Looking down at Vegeta’s lips just a breath away from his, Kakarot grinned back. “Yes, your highness.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bulma throws Chi-Chi a birthday party. The boys drink. Stuff happens.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I give up trying to keep this thing under control, it’s officially a WIP with an indefinite amount of chapters lol. I can’t thank you guys enough for the kudos and comments!! You’re all amazing!! Seriously I am so grateful and I hope you guys stick with me! Feel free to share any ideas or things you’d like to see :)

Vegeta was drunk. Not sloppy, messy drunk - that wasn’t his style - but drunk enough to endure the blasted party that his wife insisted on throwing for Chi-Chi’s birthday. 

These inane parties were always the same, and Vegeta always tried to avoid them and/or slip away unnoticed in the middle of them but it was as if Bulma had a damn Vegeta radar in her pocket next to the dragon radar. He’d long ago given up and now resigned himself to drinking and judging silently, two activities he considered himself quite adept at. 

The guest of honor herself was already drunk as hell, having been done in by a laughably small amount of alcohol, but that was probably a good thing as it turned out drunk Chi-Chi was a pretty fun Chi-Chi (for the others, of course - not like Vegeta cared). She and Bulma belted out karaoke tunes together while Kakarot and Krillin chose to play mindlessly childish games with Trunks and Goten in the outside pool. The Namek and Gohan were chatting quietly away from all the fuss, and the three eyed baldie and his strange little - child? friend? personal miniature clown? Vegeta still had no idea what Chiaotzu even was and Bulma refused to give answers - was arm wrestling with Vegeta’s least favorite guest of all. Which was, of course, fucking Yamcha. 

That left Vegeta sitting at the bar next to Android 18, who was as unamused and silent as Vegeta was. She wasn’t the worst company to have, all things considered, but Vegeta still wanted her to leave and have the bar to himself. As he nursed his third drink - either whiskey or bourbon, he didn’t care enough to know the difference - he grinned as he thought up a surefire way to get rid of the cyborg. 

“So,” he began, instantly gaining her attention, “why are you not making a fool of yourself singing with the other women? Are toasters not allowed to participate in karaoke?”

“Wow,” she remarked dryly, eyes as flat as ever. “Hilarious.”

He grinned. “Would you like a drink? Or can kitchen appliances such as yourself even consume liquid without short circuiting?”

Rather than retort at all, 18 decided to simply sit there and stare at Vegeta so utterly blankly and dead-eyed that it was only a matter of time before his grin began to shift to a grimace and his eye start twitching. She waited until he was so palpably uncomfortable that even she found it excessive and finally got up, rolling her eyes and muttering _prince of all lame-os_ as she walked away. Vegeta, for his part, let out a sigh of relief at being alone once again. He’d never be fond of that strange microwave woman. 

The woman that he _was_ fond of came stumbling into his sights a few minutes later, leaving the giggling Chi-Chi behind for a moment as she slid up behind the bar to mix them up some new drinks. Vegeta smirked as he watched her humming to herself as she gathered the needed bottles and glasses, her cheeks flushed prettily and limbs loose from the poison lowering her inhibitions. The little violet dress she wore was tasteful but snug in all the right places, and he could hardly be blamed for the interest starting to stir within his body. 

“So,” Bulma smiled warmly as she opened up a steel shaker, “how much are you hating the party, honey?”

Vegeta smirked, then disappeared and reappeared just behind her. She let out a yelp of surprise at his body suddenly flush against hers, and he murmured into her neck, “Less, now that you’re here.”

“Aww, you’re _definitely_ drunk saying something sweet like that,” she giggled, reaching back and sliding her fingers through his hair. 

“Not too drunk to make you scream loud enough for the whole city to hear,” he purred, lips brushing her ear and making her shiver until she pushed him back and wriggled away with a breathless laugh. 

“Sorry babe,” she shrugged with a bright smile, “shop’s closed.”

His hungry expression quickly gave way to irritation. “What?”

“I’m hosting a party literally as we speak, _and_ I just started my period today, doofus.”

“As if that’s ever stopped me before,” he shrugged. “I am a Saiyan and no Saiyan is ever scared or put off by a little bit of b-“

“Yeah, I get it,” she grimaced, “but I’m _not_ a Saiyan and I’m not into that, so. Shop’s closed.”

He narrowed his eyes and growled lightly. “This sucks.”

“Yeah,” she shrugged, shaking up a light pink concoction probably sweet enough to leave an elephant comatose. “But you could always see if the _other_ shop’s open.”

Vegeta stared at her. Other… _wait_. “Do you mean -“

“I’ve got Chi-Chi all distracted for you,” Bulma winked. “I’m sure she won’t mind if you wanna grab a quickie from Goku while they’re here. Sharing is caring and all of that.”

Vegeta paused, staring at his wife for a long moment. “You are the strangest woman I have ever met.”

“That’s why you love me,” she chirped before pressing a quick kiss to his cheek and then taking off with her and Chi-Chi’s drinks. “Have fun!”

He crossed his arms and huffed as she walked away, his eyes glued to her ass until it disappeared from view. His gaze then flicked up and found Yamcha glaring at him from his seat at the kitchen table. Vegeta shot him a murderous glare of his own in response, and Yamcha forced himself to keep staring back despite the nervous sweat that visibly broke over his brow. 

Vegeta chuckled. Weakling. To think Bulma ever wasted her time and body on that idiot. She’d certainly bagged herself a hell of an upgrade, going from a washed up baseball player to the motherfucking prince of all god da-

“Ahhhh, Dad watch out!”

The sound of glass shattering around a beam of light followed Trunks’ yelled warning, and a ki blast narrowly avoided taking off a chunk of Vegeta’s nose as it whizzed past him. He quickly sprang into action and smacked it away, sending it back through the window it had broken and then up harmlessly into the night sky. Through the window, Vegeta found the culprits to be, unsurprisingly, the two children and two grown idiots in the pool. 

“Sorry about that, Vegeta!” Kakarot giggled. “My bad!”

Vegeta scowled, wishing that the sight of a soaking wet and mostly naked Kakarot didn’t affect him the way that it did. “You’ll be fixing that window, Kakarot.”

Hiding behind Trunks, Goten popped his cute little head out and admitted with his own nervous giggle, “Actually, that was… kind of my fault.”

Trunks groaned. “Goten, would you shut up?!”

“I don’t care whose fault it is, Kakarot is fixing it!” Vegeta commanded without really knowing why. Maybe the idea of Kakarot playing handyman was kinda hot? _Ugh_ he was more depraved than he even realized. 

“No problem,” Kakarot agreed easily. “Hey, ‘Geta, wanna jump in here with us for awhile?”

Vegeta turned up his nose like a cat would to its owner suggesting a bath. “No. And stop the stupid games before you break another window.”

“But -“

“ _No_ ,” Vegeta barked before turning on his heel and marching back to the bar to pour himself another drink. Nothing was going to shake his resolve to despise the stupid party. He was absolutely not going to have any sort of fun or play silly kid games in the pool. He was going to sit here alone and drink and be annoyed, dammit, and nobody was gonna stop him. 

At least until roughly ten minutes later, when Vegeta was mid-swallow and suddenly a large hand landed on his shoulder. The ground disappeared beneath his feet and he choked as Kakarot instant transmissioned them somewhere outside, just behind the house, leaving him to sputter and cough as he yelled, “What the hell are you doing, you imbecile?!”

“Oh, yikes, sorry,” Kakarot cringed, shirtless and still a bit wet all over, a damp towel tied around his waist. “I was trying to surprise you.”

“With what? My own backyard? I’ve seen it, Kakarot!”

“No, no, not with that. I was gonna - “ Kakarot blushed as Vegeta finally got his coughing under control, looking away and scratching at the back of his head. “I was trying to… um… I just… wanted to see you.”

“And now you have. If you’ll excuse me,” Vegeta said, turning to stomp off, “I have more drinking to do.” 

But that same large hand from before seized his arm and stopped him. “No, wait, stop.”

Vegeta smacked his hand away as he whirled around and snapped, “What’s the matter with you, Kakarot?!”

“I don’t know how to do this!” Kakarot finally blurted, throwing up his hands in defeat. 

“How to do what? Behave like a civilized adult?”

“I’m trying to seduce you, dammit!”

Vegeta froze, the fury on his features replaced by surprise and slight embarrassment. They stared at each other for a long, uncomfortable moment until Vegeta narrowed his eyes and asked, “Are you drunk?”

“Are _you_?”

Vegeta scowled. “I asked first!”

“I’m not _drunk_ , I’m just -“ Kakarot sighed and then shifted on his feet before squaring his shoulders and forcing his next words out. “Listen, Chi-Chi made me promise to leave her alone for the night because according to her I’ve become a… I forget what she said exactly, something like… horn… dog? I think? Anyway, she wanted to have fun her way tonight and get a break from the constant sex we’ve been having, so -“

Vegeta made a face. “Kakarot what the _hell_ -“

“So I agreed,” Kakarot shrugged, “because I love her and I’ll do whatever makes her happy, but I did have a little bit to drink and whenever I drink I get really… y’know…” He trailed off and looked at Vegeta expectantly, but when Vegeta did not supply the word that he was looking for, Kakarot went on. “Anyway, so I figured maybe I’d see if you were up for something?”

Vegeta crossed his arms and rolled his eyes. “If your idea of seduction is rambling on and on about how I’m your second choice of partner, then you’re even worse at this than I thought.”

“Well she _is_ my wife, so -“

“Yes, but do forgive me if I’m not eager to take you up on your proposition when you haven’t bothered showing any interest since our last… encounter.”

As Vegeta blushed slightly at his own words, Kakarot’s brows lowered. “Hey, that’s only because Trunks and Goten have been training with us. This is the first time I’ve gotten you alone since that night.”

Dammit. He was right. Vegeta _hated_ it when he was right. 

“Trust me,” Kakarot said, his voice dropping lower as he took a few steps closer, “I’ve wanted to do this a lot sooner. I think about you a lot. Probably too much.”

Rolling his eyes and tightening his arms even harder across his chest, Vegeta was determined to appear unmoved and unbothered. “Even if that’s true, your seduction methods still leave much to be desired.”

“Well,” Kakarot shrugged, closing the distance between them and leaning one hand on the wall that Vegeta was leaning back on, bringing them daringly close together, “in my defense, I’ve never really had to seduce anyone before. I figured since you were already in the mood -“

Vegeta’s eyes snapped up to his. “Wait, what? How could you possibly know anything about my _mood_?”

Kakarot smiled cheerfully. “I saw you coming on to Bulma behind the bar.”

_Oh, what the fuck_. “You were watching us through the window?! Kakarot what the hell do you think you’re -“

“I’m sorry! I couldn’t help it, I’ve never seen you like that,” he replied sheepishly, a blush tinting his own cheeks. “It got me all… y’know.”

Vegeta searched the other man’s features, trying to stay angry with him but finding that something _else_ was quickly eclipsing that emotion. “Got you all what, Kakarot?” Vegeta asked lowly, even as he cursed himself inwardly for doing it. 

“Hot all over,” Kakarot replied, eyes dropping down from Vegeta’s eyes to his lips and then back up. “And hard.”

“Hmm,” Vegeta pretended to contemplate, tilting his head and not breaking eye contact as he smirked. “Well, maybe that will teach you to focus on your own wife rather than spying on what I do with mine.”

Kakarot whined. “But Chi-Chi’s off limits tonight.”

“Tragic,” Vegeta chuckled. “Do you not have two perfectly functional hands?”

Kakarot whined again. “ _‘Geta…_ ”

“Listen, Kakarot,” Vegeta whispered, straightening up to look Kakarot dead in the eye and leave no room for questioning, “if you think for one second I’m now going to be your little plaything that will bend over for you at your every whim, you are _hilariously_ mistaken. We fucked once, Kakarot - it doesn’t mean it’s gonna ever happen again.”

Kakarot blinked innocently. “But… don’t you want it to? Didn’t you enjoy it? You sure seemed to…”

Vegeta found that he rather liked making Kakarot squirm like this, always savoring the opportunity to have the upper hand over him in any way possible. He decided to keep toying with him, wondering how far he might be able to push him when a sinfully tempting idea suddenly sprung to mind. 

“I did enjoy myself,” Vegeta replied, licking his lips and grinning at the way Kakarot’s eyes followed the motion. “But I don’t simply fall into bed at the whims of others. You’ll have to earn the privilege of fucking me again.”

Kakarot raised a brow and grinned back. “I gotta earn it, huh? And how’s that?”

“Instant transmission us to my bedroom,” Vegeta replied, “and I’ll show you.”

Kakarot smirked and raised two hands to his forehead. “Grab on to me.”

“Gladly.”

Vegeta grabbed Kakarot’s hard cock through his pants just before they disappeared from sight and reappeared in the center of his and Bulma’s bedroom. The gasp that came flying out of Kakarot’s mouth was too satisfying for words. 

“Now,” Vegeta said, rubbing at him slowly, “strip and lay on the bed.”

Kakarot groaned when Vegeta pulled his hand away, then all but ripped his gi off before catapulting into the bed. He laid back in the center of it, naked and hard and flushed down to his belly button, and Vegeta found the sight absolutely mouthwatering. But it could be better. 

“Touch yourself.”

Kakarot’s eyes widened. Vegeta smirked and crossed his arms again, standing at the foot of the bed with a front row seat to a show he never knew he needed until now. 

“But -“

“Do it,” Vegeta demanded. “If you want me so badly, show me how much.”

Kakarot, never one to shrink from a challenge, went from slightly unsure to smirking right back within seconds. He kept his eyes locked on Vegeta’s as he relaxed against the sheets, legs falling comfortably open as his right hand touched his abdomen. 

“Whatever you want, your highness.”

Vegeta barely had time to react to those words before Kakarot’s hand was wrapped around his cock, giving a lazy stroke up and down while still not breaking eye contact. Vegeta’s eyes, however, were all over the place, the sight before him nothing short of a feast - the devilish but somehow still almost innocent gleam in Kakarot’s eyes, the slight tremble of his chest as he touched himself, the loose fist of his hand on his cock, familiar and well attuned to what he liked. 

Vegeta didn’t realize his own mouth was hanging open until he heard the other man’s breathless little chuckle. 

“I don’t do this all that often,” Kakarot admitted, his easy and casual tone impressive as he worked himself lazily. “Sometimes I forget how good it feels.”

Vegeta swallowed, suddenly feeling a bit in over his head as a shiver shot down his spine. Kakarot had figured out last time how much Vegeta enjoyed him talking dirty, and he had a feeling he was about to use this little fact against him. 

Kakarot hummed lowly and closed his eyes, thumb rubbing over his leaking tip on each upstroke. His other hand reached up to play almost absently with his pecs, something Vegeta hadn’t expected. Then Kakarot turned his head and breathed in the sheets surrounding him, murmuring, “Smells so good, smells like you.”

His own arousal skyrocketing, Vegeta’s heart pounded in his chest as he watched raptly. Kakarot’s hand was moving faster, his thighs and legs squirming lightly under the pleasure he was giving himself, and when his other fingertips pinched at a nipple, the rough little moan that left his lips was exquisite. 

“ _Oh_ ,” Kakarot groaned, fist tighter now as it flew faster up and down. “ _Dammit, want you, Vegeta…”_

Vegeta sucked in a sharp breath. “What do you want, Kakarot?”

“Wanna fuck you again,” Kakarot whined, writhing harder into the sheets. “Wanna suck you off this time too, taste you and -“

“ _Fuck_ ,” Vegeta cursed as he rapidly ripped off his own clothes, then rushed to the side of the bed and grabbed Kakarot by his hair to pull him up. “Sit up, come here.”

Very much pleased with the turn of events, Kakarot moved to sit on the edge of the bed and pulled Vegeta to stand between his legs. Hand still gripping his messy black hair, Vegeta pulled Kakarot’s face straight down to his dick and said, “Do it, Kakarot, suck my cock.”

Kakarot moaned happily as he complied, tackling his first ever blow job with all the enthusiasm he tackled any other new opponent with. Vegeta sighed at the wet warmth now enveloping him, closing his eyes and tipping his head back as he gently guided the other man’s motions. He let himself swim in the pleasure for a moment or two before looking down and committing the sight before him to memory. He watched himself disappear within Kakarot’s mouth over and over, feeling almost overstimulated already somehow, but he craved more. He wanted it all and would accept nothing less than exactly that. 

Bedside desk already within his reach, he quietly grabbed a bottle of lube and opened it before pulling Kakarot’s head back and murmuring his name. Kakarot looked up at him questioningly - lips swollen and slick, eyes glazed with desire - but he needed no further explanation when Vegeta poured some lube on to his fingers and then widened his stance. Kakarot merely grinned at him before diving back in, taking his cock down his throat and slipping two wet fingers between his cheeks, and Vegeta’s eyes rolled into the back of his head at the new assault of sensations. 

It wasn’t long before Kakarot had worked both fingers deep inside of him, head bobbing and throat working and _fucking hell fuck_ how Kakarot knew how to work him so well already, Vegeta might never know. It defied logic, really, but as Vegeta held on with both hands fisted in the younger man’s hair, hips moving to the delicious rhythm Kakarot had set, he found himself nearing his peak almost embarrassingly quickly. 

Two perfectly aimed strokes on that sweet spot inside coupled with that hot mouth swallowing around him and Vegeta was shoving Kakarot away with a gasp _just_ in time. Kakarot was panting and sweating as he looked up at Vegeta, looking beautifully debauched and wild, and Vegeta didn’t hesitate before climbing into his lap and grabbing his cock to slide down on it. 

But before he could, Kakarot grabbed his face and pulled him in for a long, deep, filthy kiss. One part of Vegeta wanted to slap him away and tell him to fuck him already, but the rest of him melted into the kiss and savored it. They kissed with a wild abandon, teeth scraping lips and biting and tongues twisting with a feral hunger, their inner animals unleashing in a way they only could with each other. 

“Mm, _fuck, ‘Geta_ ,” Kakarot gasped as Vegeta’s mouth wandered down to his neck, where he bit down _hard_ just above his shoulder. “ _Harder_ , make it _hurt_.”

Vegeta obeyed, sinking his teeth into that perfect skin until he tasted blood. Kakarot all but _howled_ at that, and the next thing Vegeta knew two hands had seized his hips and shoved him down on the hard cock that he’d been craving. He cried out and threw his head back, finding the sudden and almost brutal impaling to be absolutely divine. It hurt just right, the sensation of being filled and split open making him see stars, and it only got better once he started rocking his hips and riding Kakarot. 

Their lips crashed together as they groped and gasped and _fucked_ , both men seemingly forgetting that the house was full of guests as they took their pleasure. Vegeta rode the other man hard and eventually grabbed him by the throat and shoved him down on his back, wishing he still had his tail so he could slip that around his throat and choke him _just_ right while keeping both hands free. Instead he bounced up and down on that annoyingly perfect cock and gently, carefully restricted Kakarot’s airflow, just enough to make his eyes roll to the back of his head and intensify the already overwhelming pleasure between them. 

But it wasn’t long before Kakarot’s hand closed around Vegeta’s wrist and, an inhumanly rapid flurry of movement later, Vegeta was on his back and Kakarot was fucking into him with everything he had. It was bruising and harsh and ruthless and fucking amazing, and Vegeta never wanted it to end. He was confident that he could spend eons like this, trapped between a soft mattress and his beautiful, lovable idiot of a rival-turned-friend, taking his cock like he was made for it, and he’d die a happy man. It was even more nonsensical than his thoughts during their first two trysts, but he couldn’t help it - something about this touched him down in his soul and even he couldn’t pretend otherwise. 

“Vegeta,” Kakarot gasped, hands fisted in the sheets by Vegeta’s head and hips snapping feverishly, body trembling, “fuck I’m gonna come.” Vegeta opened his mouth to reply but then Kakarot’s hand was sliding between them to frantically stroke at his dick, his breathless voice demanding in Vegeta’s ear, “Come with me, ‘Geta.”

And he did, just like that, letting out a blissful roar as his entire world shrank down to nothing but the ecstasy pulsing through his veins. It felt like it lasted forever and yet not long enough, a content haze replacing the orgasm’s final aftershocks once they ebbed away. He was left feeling boneless, like he was floating and weighed nothing more than a mere feather, and he would have fallen into a deep and dreamless sleep if not for the crushing weight of the man on top of him. 

He smacked the side of Kakarot’s face. “Get off me, idiot, I can’t breathe.”

Kakarot mumbled an apology and rolled off of him. The two men then laid there on their backs, sweaty and filthy and sated, utterly exhausted and slightly shocked by just how intense and amazing their little… _workout_ had been. 

“Phew,” Kakarot finally breathed as he wiped off his forehead with the back of his hand. “Think I need a senzu bean after that.”

Vegeta snorted. “Sure, go ask the little Baldie for one. Good luck explaining why.”

Kakarot chuckled, and the two men enjoyed a comfortable silence for another moment or two. Vegeta’s eyes stayed closed until he felt Kakarot slowly get up from the bed, and a tiny nearly imperceptible smile graced his lips as he realized what the other man was doing. 

“Quite the gentleman tonight,” Vegeta teased when Kakarot returned to the bed with a warm damp towel to clean him up with. He let Kakarot have at it, not minding the service in the least. 

Kakarot shrugged. “Chi-Chi appreciates it when I take care of her after.”

Something about that sentence, about Vegeta and Kakarot’s wife now sharing some strange sort of category together, made Vegeta pause and his smirk slowly fade. But the strangeness passed when Kakarot finished, setting the towel aside as he grinned down at Vegeta. 

“Guess I’m not the _worst_ at this whole seduction thing, huh?”

Vegeta slowly rolled his eyes and let out a deep sigh. “Imbecile.”

Kakarot merely giggled and gently kissed his lips. Not terribly long after, both men managed to get out of bed and get dressed, Kakarot deciding that it was probably time to get Chi-Chi home to sleep off her drunkenness. Vegeta agreed, more than ready to be done with the blasted party and pass out himself, but as they stepped out of the bedroom a sudden thought occurred to him. 

He reached out and seized Kakarot’s arm. “Kakarot.”

He smiled automatically. “Yeah, Vegeta?”

“Next time we train,” Vegeta told him solemnly, “the brats stay home.”

Kakarot grinned. “I like the way you think.”

Vegeta grinned back. “I like the way you fuck me.”

Kakarot blushed and leaned in to press a kiss to Vegeta’s lips, and the next thing they knew they were lost in just one more deep, passionate kiss. They were so distracted, in fact, that they both completely missed the sound of incoming footsteps _and_ two powerful approaching kis. 

Both men remained blissfully unaware of their unfortunate new audience until a small, confused voice chirped, “Uh… Dad?”

Vegeta’s eyes sprang open in horror. Kakarot’s did too, and their heads whipped around to find Trunks and Goten standing right there in the hallway a few feet away, staring at their fathers in adorably innocent confusion. 

Kakarot stared at the kids like a deer in headlights before smiling brightly and waving at them like an idiot. “Oh, uh… hey guys!”

Trunks blinked. Goten blinked. The latter asked, “What are you guys doing?”

Vegeta was both ghostly pale and bright red, somehow. Kakarot stammered, “Um we’re uh… we were… training!”

Trunks narrowed his blue eyes. “With your mouths?”

Kakarot giggled uncomfortably. “It’s an… advanced technique!”

Goten’s eyes widened. “Should me and Trunks try it?”

“No!” Vegeta and Kakarot shouted in unison. 

Goten frowned in confusion, but Trunks looked back and forth between the two men in high suspicion. He wasn’t as naive as Goten, Vegeta was well aware, and he really didn’t want to deal with this right now. Sure, the women were aware of what was happening and approved of it, but Vegeta didn’t particularly care for this _development_ in his and Kakarot’s friendship to reach the others via chatty children. 

“Trunks,” Vegeta muttered, “how much will your silence cost?”

Trunks crossed his arms and grinned. “A trip to the amusement park.”

Vegeta gritted his teeth. “Fine. One day.”

“Two days.”

“Half a day!”

“Two and a half or I walk.”

Vegeta cursed his son’s brilliance. “Fine! What about you, Goten? Wanna come too?” he asked aggressively. 

Goten smiled and jumped up and down. “Yay!”

“What did you see just now?” Vegeta asked both boys. 

“Nothing!” They replied together happily before running off, presumably to plan their two and a half day amusement park extravaganza. Vegeta let out a sigh of relief and turned to Kakarot, who looked both confused and impressed. 

“Why do I get the feeling this isn’t the first time that’s happened?”

Vegeta shrugged. “A father must make sacrifices from time to time. Especially when he’s ensuring his son’s silence. By the way,” he added as they began walking back towards the party, “you’re coming with us. If I must suffer, you must as well.”

“Oh cool! I love amusement parks! Roller coasters are my favorite!” Kakarot smiled cheerily, and Vegeta couldn’t help but groan. 

“You are unbearable.”

Kakarot threw an arm around Vegeta’s shoulders. “I like you too.”

Vegeta smacked his arm away. “Fuck you.”

Kakarot winked. “Just did.”

Vegeta blasted him through the wall and kept walking, grinning as Kakarot laughed while he flew through the drywall. 

  
  
  
  
  



	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A board game gets blown up. Vegeta plays bartender. Goku plays with ki cuffs. Subspace may or may not happen. Boundaries are pushed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys so SO much for reading & commenting & following this fic!! I can’t thank you all enough! I’m kinda just playing it by ear still and don’t fully know where it’s going but I feel with this chapter we reach a point where I just wanna put it out there that the canon couples are 100% going to stay together through all of this and this isn’t leading to any breakups. I don’t really know why I feel the need to clarify that but there it is anyway lol 
> 
> Also heed the updated tags! Our bois are getting out of control lol :) thank you guys again so much!!!

“Oh,  _ Kami _ , Goku,” Chi-Chi giggled breathlessly, pushing her husband away from between her weakened, trembling legs, “no - no more! I’m gonna die!”

Giggling with her, Goku playfully bit at her inner thigh and purred, “Aw, but you taste so good, Chi…”

Whimpering but determined, Chi-Chi bit her lip and pulled at Goku’s hair until he finally raised his head and met her gaze. She blushed at how utterly  _ drenched _ his lips and chin were, the sight almost enough to make her reconsider, but she took a breath and sighed, “No more.”

“Okay,” he smiled, reaching up to wipe at his mouth, and she couldn’t help but marvel at how innocent and filthy he managed to look all at once. It was one of her favorite things about him, if she was being honest. 

Satisfied so long as she was, Goku climbed up her body and kissed her softly as he pulled her close, knowing how much she adored cuddling after sex. She took a deep, cleansing breath against his chest and let it go, floating on the high of happy chemicals flooding her brain and the comforting feeling of being safe in his arms. 

“I love you, Chi-Chi,” he told her sweetly, kissing the top of her head and nuzzling her slightly sweaty, free-flowing long black hair. 

“I love you too, Goku,” she said through a yawn, and they both chuckled. 

He gently rubbed his hand up and down her back, nearly lulling her to sleep before his voice roused her again. 

“Hey, so… Bulma invited us over for a game night tomorrow,” Goku told her. “Wanna go?”

She hummed, having a hard time remembering what day tomorrow even was after how thoroughly he had wrecked her. Eventually she remembered, however, and replied, “No, tomorrow night we’re camping with dad and the kids, remember?”

“Oh, right. Well, darn… kinda already told them we’d go,” he chuckled nervously. 

Chi-Chi sighed and looked up at her husband, raising a knowing brow. “I know what you’re doing, Goku.”

He blinked innocently. “Doing?”

“You want to go see your…” she paused, having no idea what to even call Vegeta. They had a strange dynamic, one that she didn’t think she’d ever fully understand or relate to, but that was okay. “Vegeta.” 

He blushed like a schoolgirl. “V - no! I didn’t say th-“

“You didn’t have to,” she rolled her eyes, smiling. “It’s fine. Go have your ‘game night’ and then come meet us at the campsite when you’re done.”

“Really?” When Chi-Chi simply yawned and nodded in affirmation, he kissed her and said, “Wow, you’re the best.”

She smiled and nuzzled his chest again, closing her eyes. “I sure am.”

His fingers running slowly, absentmindedly through her hair, he then asked, “Are you sure you’re okay with… you know. Me and Vegeta um…”

“For the thousandth time, yes,” Chi-Chi sighed, not bothering to open her sleepy eyes. “You two have been obsessed with each other since you first met, and I’ll never understand why but it is what it is. Probably some strange Saiyan thing. Either way, I trust you. I know you’ll always come home to me. And besides,” she yawned again, “my body needs the break, Mr. Marathon Man.”

Goku laughed and hugged her a little tighter. “Okay. As long as you’re sure. I’d never wanna hurt you, Chi.”

She smiled. “I know.” Then she was asleep, safe and secure in the arms of her devoted man, and there was nowhere else in the world that she’d rather be. 

—

In hindsight, Bulma should have known that playing Monopoly with her Saiyan husband, Saiyan best friend, and her two half-Saiyan children would result in nothing but chaos. How she didn’t predict each and every one of them simply viewing the game as a non-violent form of mortal combat she’d never know, but when the two-hour long game ended with Vegeta kicking the table over and Trunks blasting the entire board into oblivion, she simply lit a cigarette and sunk back into the couch, shaking her head. 

“Mama!” Bulla wailed, yanking on her mother’s pants leg. “Trunks cheated! He cheated!”

She ruffled the little girl’s blue hair, identical to her own, and replied sympathetically, “I know, sweetie. You just gotta ignore your big brother when he’s being a jerk.”

“The only jerk I see around here,” Vegeta spat, standing and pointing at Goku, “is Kakarot!”

“Me?!” Goku gasped, eyes bulging. “What did I do?” 

“You stole Boardwalk from my son!” Vegeta seethed. “You and I both know damn well Trunks was the true victor!”

Trunks nodded and yelled, “Yeah! Tell him, Dad!”

Bulma rolled her eyes. “Actually, Boardwalk was Bulla’s until Trunks cheated, so -“

“Don’t lecture me on your silly Earth rules, woman!” Vegeta snapped back. 

“It’s a  _ board game _ ! The rules were made on earth! Either you follow them or you’re cheating, period!” Bulma yelled back, not noticing that Bulla had wandered away from her until Trunks was suddenly crying out in pain - apparently Bulla had walked right up to him and smashed her foot down on his as hard as she could. 

“Dirty cheater!” she yelled up at her brother, sticking her tongue out at him as he clutched his foot and whimpered. 

“Bulla, your anger is misdirected,” Vegeta sniffed, crossing his arms and closing his eyes. “It is Kakarot who deserves your ire, not Trunks.”

“But I like Uncle Kaka!” Bulla replied haughtily, crossing her arms and mirroring her father’s pose. “He’s funny and he always brings me candy. And he’s not a dirty cheater like Trunks!”

Goku smiled at the child’s endorsement, and Bulma’s frown softened up too. Vegeta’s eye merely twitched, and Trunks whined, “Bulla, I’m your  _ brother _ !”

“And a  _ dirty cheater!” _ she screeched back, tightening her little hands into fists and tensing up, and when the lights flickered ominously as a result, Bulma sprang up and decided that was her cue to start herding the kids to bed. 

“Okay,” she sing-songed, putting out her cigarette and standing up, “no more of that. Time for bed, it’s late.”

Trunks groaned. “Aw, but Mom, I wanted to spar with G-“

“Nope,” Bulma shook her head, scooping Bulla up into her arms. “Not tonight, kiddo. Go on, get moving.”

Trunks grumbled but started walking anyway, and as Bulma moved to follow him she told Vegeta, “Since I’ve got bedtime duty, you get to clean up.”

He growled. “Woman, just make the cleaning bots do it!”

“Did the cleaning bots knock over my table and let our son blast a hole through a board game? Didn’t think so,” she smiled sweetly, which only made Vegeta growl more deeply. “And by the way, I’m gonna be up late working in the lab, so you boys can entertain yourselves for the rest of the night.”

Inwardly she cackled at the way that both Vegeta and Goku froze at those words, the former blinking and the latter blushing and scratching at the back of his neck. She gave them both a knowing wink and then added, “Don’t have too much fun without me!”

Vegeta’s look of blank surprise turned devilish as he smirked back at her. “Oh, don’t worry about  _ that _ .”

Trunks obliviously interrupted the exchange by asking, “Can I skip brushing my teeth tonight?”

“Ew, no!” Bulma grimaced, returning her attention to getting the kids upstairs. “Actually, take a shower too, you stink.”

With Trunks now whining twice as hard, Bulma nudged him along and glanced back at Goku and Vegeta one more time before turning the corner. She took the opportunity to stealthily make a blow job motion with her hand and tongue, and Vegeta’s eyes bugged out of his head while Goku nearly hit the ground. She laughed out loud as she headed up the stairs, wondering if teasing those two would ever get old. 

“What’s so funny, Mom?” Trunks asked, glancing back at her like she was crazy. 

“Nothing,” she replied, smile lingering on her face. “Make sure you actually use shampoo this time.”

“Ugh, but  _ Moooom… _ ”

—

Now standing alone with Kakarot in the middle of his living room, Vegeta willed away the blush that Bulma had brought to his cheeks and hesitantly glanced over to the other man. Kakarot was still rubbing the back of his neck nervously, meeting his gaze with a small smile, and Vegeta vaguely wondered how many times they’d have to fuck before Kakarot would stop acting so shy and innocent all the time. 

Not that he minded it. At all. Even a little bit. 

Okay fine. He loved it.  _ Whatever _ . 

Vegeta sighed and started cleaning up the mess he and Trunks had made, not regretting a moment of it. New coffee tables could be easily bought and replaced, but his honor as a warrior - even in silly earth games - could not. 

To his surprise, Kakarot started picking up the room with him. At Vegeta’s perplexed expression, Kakarot shrugged, “Figured I’d make myself useful.”

Vegeta didn’t reply, unsure of quite how to. He was used to the man acting strangely - he did that more than he acted normally, at least in Vegeta’s eyes - but this was still unexpected. People tended to perceive Kakarot as fairly inconsiderate and thoughtless, though in an entirely benign way because he was the most pure hearted idiot alive, but the more time that Vegeta spent around him the more he could see how wrong that perception was. 

After they’d picked up the living room in a companionable silence, Vegeta briefly considered their options before asking him, “Want a drink?”

“Oh, sure, why not,” Kakarot smiled, blushing a little as he turned to follow Vegeta towards the bar that Bulma kept well-stocked. Vegeta smirked at his reaction and casually slipped around the bar, more than comfortable with his knowledge of earth’s liquors and how to prepare them to his own refined standards. 

“What would you like?” Vegeta asked as Kakarot hopped up on a stool, spinning around childishly before stilling and thinking it over. 

“Hmm… well, what are you having?”

“I prefer aged scotch,” Vegeta said, grabbing a small glass for himself. After he poured himself the drink, Kakarot made a face and wrinkled his nose a bit. 

“I don’t like that hard stuff,” he admitted, and somehow Vegeta wasn’t surprised. “Got anything a little… easier?”

Vegeta took a sip of his liquor and then smirked, setting it down as an idea sprang to mind. “Yes, in fact, I think I know just the thing.”

Vegeta then turned around and began playing bartender as Kakarot watched in full fascination. He said as much as he chuckled, “Wow, Vegeta, I didn’t know you were so good at making drinks.”

“Well, as much as I’d prefer to be served,” Vegeta replied, pouring ice and other ingredients into a shaker, “I’ve found the average earth bartender to be rather lacking. Bulma knows how I like my drinks but I can’t rely on her to make them at my every whim. And it’s come in handy to know how to prepare  _ her _ drinks when her moods become irritating enough.”

“Aww,” Kakarot grinned. “I think it’s sweet you make her drinks after she’s had a rough day.”

Of course Kakarot would interpret Vegeta’s words like that, he mused. To anyone else it would sound like Vegeta simply threw alcohol at his wife to shut her up when she began to grate on his nerves, but Kakarot knew exactly how to read between the lines and find the sentiment hidden in Vegeta’s words. It was both impressive and disconcerting, Vegeta thought as he shook up Kakarot’s drink, how easily the other Saiyan could see through him. 

He set down a martini glass in front of Kakarot and then poured a ruby red mixture into it, filling it to the brim and telling him, “This is Bulma’s favorite.”

Kakarot’s eyes widened and he looked at the drink as if it were a mysterious new candy of some kind. “Ooh… it’s pretty!”

Vegeta rolled his eyes and picked up his scotch. “You’re supposed to drink it, not compliment it, Kakarot.”

Kakarot giggled and picked it up, taking a small sip at first before pausing and smacking his lips. Then his eyes widened and he took another drink, a much longer one this time, before exclaiming, “Wow! This is really good!”

Vegeta smirked. “It’s a Cosmo.”

“I don’t know what that is, but it’s delicious,” Kakarot marveled before proceeding to down the entire thing in one more gulp. Vegeta snorted and then filled the glass back up, and Kakarot grinned, “Man, I could drink a hundred of these.”

“I’d prefer you didn’t,” Vegeta replied, leaning on the bar with his arms crossed. “Explaining to your wife how I let you die of alcohol poisoning would be far too much of a headache.”

Kakarot chuckled. “Oh yeah, she’d kill you herself if that happened.”

“Speaking of the woman,” Vegeta mused curiously, “she isn’t exactly the most… forgiving person. How exactly is she all right with what we’re doing?”

Kakarot choked a little at the mention of the raw, passionate gay sex that they’d been having, but he recovered fairly quickly and shrugged, “You know, sometimes I wonder too, but she swears she’s okay with it and I believe her. If I thought it would hurt her I’d stop and never look back.”

_ Of course you would _ , Vegeta thought.  _ Because you’re the best man I’ve ever known _ . “And yet the first time it happened, you didn’t seem to realize that what had taken place was infidelity.”

Kakarot blushed. “That’s because I didn’t - look, I’m…” He sighed and paused to gather his words. “My brain took time to catch up with what had happened. It didn’t  _ feel _ wrong, and cheating is wrong, so it would have felt wrong while it was happening, right? But it didn’t. It felt right, same way it feels with Chi-Chi.”

Vegeta had to fight his own blush, being equated with Kakarot’s wife like that. He cleared his throat and took another drink, draining his glass. 

Meanwhile, Kakarot seemed to have forgotten all about his own drink. “She thinks it’s because we’re Saiyans,” he added as Vegeta poured himself more of the scotch. “Like something… primal, I guess. Do you think that’s true?”

Vegeta stared down at the counter that separated them, mulling it over for a second or two. “Well. It’s not as if all Saiyans possess an inherent attraction to each other,” he shrugged. “I spent most of my life in the company of Nappa and your brother and I was never tempted to fuck either of them.”

“Huh,” Kakarot nodded. “Well, I don’t blame you. Nappa wasn’t exactly a looker, and Raditz was…” he paused and squinted. “Hairy.”

Vegeta snorted. “You should have seen the state he left my pod in once, after he crashed his and needed a spare for a mission. It was disgusting. A dog doesn’t even shed as much as he did.”

Kakarot laughed, then grew quiet and thoughtful as he traced the stem of his martini glass with his index finger. “Was he… as bad as he seemed?”

“In what way?”

“Well,” Kakarot sighed, “he just seemed like pure evil back then, when I met him. He hurt Gohan and he just… I don’t know. Sometimes I feel bad that he died - that me and Piccolo killed him - before he had a chance to change.”

Vegeta took a deep breath. “Kakarot. Look at me.” Kakarot obeyed instantly. “Raditz was a Saiyan warrior, through and through. One of the weaker ones, but regardless. He embodied the Saiyan way of life - living for the glory of battle and conquest, and showing no mercy. He was what he was. There was nothing you could have done to change that.”

“I know,” Kakarot replied quietly. “I do. But I showed  _ you _ mercy. And I’ve watched  _ you _ change and become not just a friend but…” he paused and looked up at Vegeta with such a soft, affectionate look in his eyes, it nearly terrified Vegeta. “Someone I know I can always trust. You mean a lot to me, Vegeta.”

He knew what Kakarot meant - that it would likely always haunt him, wondering if perhaps his brother might have also changed had circumstances been different - but all Vegeta could focus on were those unbearably sappy words and the equally appalling emotion behind them. Vegeta was aghast and touched and indescribably warmed all at once, unable to say a word. 

“I’m just really glad it wasn’t you who showed up that day,” Kakarot smiled. “Without you, I don’t know what my life or the world or… even the universe would look like.”

“Don’t be silly, Kakarot,” Vegeta scoffed, finally finding his voice again though it was shakier than he’d have preferred. “You and the Namekian couldn’t have beaten me back then. I’d have killed you and all of your family and friends and taken the dragon balls. I’d be immortal,” he mused, taking a thoughtful sip of his drink. “Ruling the universe with an iron fist.”

Now it was Kakarot’s turn to snort. “Yeah. Well… I think things worked out for the best, don’t you think? Living in a nice big house with a beautiful wife and kids sure beats being king of the universe.”

Vegeta chuckled. “See, that’s the difference between you and your brother. He had none of your softness. None of your strength, your conviction. He wouldn’t have thought twice before killing you and your brat and every human on this planet if it meant getting his hands on a chance at eternal life. And yet you…” He chuckled again and shook his head. “You sit here all of these years later feeling senseless guilt and wishing you could have granted the worthless oaf  _ mercy _ .”

Kakarot smiled wistfully. “Yeah… guess that makes me an idiot, like you always say.”

“No, Kakarot,” Vegeta shook his head, meeting his gaze meaningfully. “It makes you  _ you _ . Do not be ashamed of those qualities. Be proud. You may not be cruel like our race was, but you have our pride. Don’t forget that.”

Kakarot blinked and smiled widely. “You think so?”

Vegeta rolled his eyes. “Of course, you moron.”

Smile growing even wider, Kakarot leaned his head on his hand and mused, “I guess we’ve both come a long way, haven’t we?”

Vegeta finished off his second drink and stayed silent, any reply he might have thought up falling by the wayside as he became distracted by Kakarot tugging at the collar of his black t-shirt. He was dressed so casually, just the damn shirt that fit him like a glove and loose gray pants, but he made it look a lot more delectable than he had any right to. 

“Man,” Kakarot admitted as he began fanning himself with his right hand, “drinking always makes me so hot.”

Vegeta glanced at his unfinished second drink and noted with amusement, “I’m not sure if one and a half cocktails counts as ‘drinking’.”

“I don’t drink often,” Kakarot shrugged, “so my tolerance is nonexistent. Doesn’t take much.” He then picked up the Cosmo and drained it, remarking afterwards, “Might have to drink more often though, so long as you’re the bartender.”

“You should be so lucky,” Vegeta smirked before turning and taking the shaker and Kakarot’s empty glass to the sink. He had no intention of washing anything, more than happy to leave the bots to it, but he wasn’t a  _ complete _ slob. In fact, he was the tidiest person in the entire house and would have been with or without Bulma’s cleaning machines. 

He was about to turn around and suggest that they take their conversation elsewhere when he suddenly felt Kakarot’s unmistakable heat and energy not even an inch behind him. He froze, curious as to what the other man was up to, and ultimately chuckling when he got the answer to his unspoken question. 

“I think I  _ am _ pretty lucky,” Kakarot murmured before wrapping his hands around Vegeta’s hips and leaning in close to kiss at his neck. The touches were gentle, sweet, and absolutely not what Vegeta wanted from him. 

“Is this how you seduce your wife, Kakarot?” Vegeta questioned, tone unimpressed. “Because while I’m sure it works on her, you should know me better than to think it would on me.”

Kakarot chuckled against his neck, sending a warm shiver down Vegeta’s spine. “Yeah, I figured. Worth a try though.” Then he spun Vegeta around and pinned him to the counter, hand shooting up to grab his throat and thigh slipping between both of Vegeta’s, holding him in place. 

Vegeta laughed darkly, gripping Kakarot’s wrist out of reflex. “Much better.”

Kakarot grinned back and tightened his grip, cutting off just enough air to make Vegeta groan. Vegeta was getting hard fast and Kakarot could feel it too, murmuring, “That rough enough for you, ‘Geta?”

Vegeta scoffed. “Hardly. Even you’re not that soft, Kakarot,” he managed to grit out. 

“Maybe,” Kakarot mused. “Maybe not.” Then he knocked Vegeta’s head back into the wooden cabinet behind him, leaving a huge crack in it that would make Bulma scream in frustration over the next day, but right now none of that mattered. All that mattered was the way that Vegeta’s grunt of pain turned into a moan of pleasure just before he snarled and started fighting back. 

He sunk a vicious knee into Kakarot’s gut and slapped his arm away, breaking free and advancing on his lover with a cruel grin on his face. Kakarot shook off the blow he’d taken, grinning back and motioning for Vegeta to come get him. Vegeta growled and swung his fist, but instead of connecting with flesh and bone… he shattered a good chunk of the bar instead. 

Then, having reappeared just behind Vegeta, Kakarot kissed his cheek sweetly and chirped, “Oops.”

_ Oh he was dead now _ . Vegeta turned around and swung again, and this time Kakarot caught his fist in one hand while bringing two fingers of his other to his forehead. Less than a blink of an eye later, they were no longer in Capsule Corp but instead in a familiar, mostly desolate valley that they trained in often. Vegeta didn’t miss a beat, swinging his other fist and growling with a naked mixture of bloodlust and arousal, the two blending together until he couldn’t tell a difference anymore, and they sunk into the fight with a deranged sense of satisfaction. 

This, he thought, was his favorite kind of foreplay with Kakarot. With Bulma it was often a war of words that would serve as their foreplay, arguing and fighting over sometimes absolutely nothing of merit until it reached a head and culminated in scorching hot sex. With Kakarot it was all physical, all reaching down deep and touching those bone-deep instincts that they shared in their blood. 

But he’d meant what he’d said earlier - he’d never been attracted to another Saiyan before Kakarot. He’d been only a child when his people were exterminated and the only ones left hadn’t stirred his interest, but from the moment he’d laid eyes on Kakarot there had been a pull, a mutual magnetism that he’d been blind to for years. And it  _ was _ different, somehow, than what he felt for Bulma. It was neither stronger or weaker - he loved Bulma with all of his soul and she was his mate, and he would choose her as such in every lifetime, every universe - but it was simply… different. And it was getting more and more intense each time they ended up in each other’s arms. 

Later on Vegeta would blame his wayward thoughts for what happened next. One minute he was blocking a kick and shooting off a ki blast towards Kakarot’s face, and the next he was being thrown into the side of a boulder like a sack of potatoes. Then, something utterly stunning happened - before he could recover, Kakarot held up a lone finger and smirked as he floated before him, shooting out small bursts of ki that wrapped around Vegeta’s ankles and wrists, binding him to the rocks. 

Ki cuffs, just like the ones he’d once used on Kakarot himself under  _ much _ different circumstances. 

Vegeta laughed, testing the bonds and finding them impressive. The more he struggled, the tighter they grew. “I didn’t think you had it in you, Kakarot.”

“After all this time,” Kakarot tsked, drawing closer to him, “and you  _ still _ underestimate me.”

“Are you going to punish me for my insolence?” Vegeta asked, not minding the idea one bit. His low tone of voice said as much. 

“Hmm,” Kakarot pretended to contemplate, eyes tripping down Vegeta’s body and lingering on the obvious swell of his cock through his pants. “It’s not usually my style,  _ but… _ ”

_ Thwack _ . Vegeta’s head whipped to the side, his cheek burning with the merciless slap that Kakarot had just delivered. He was absolutely stunned, and before he could even blink his head whipped to the other side, his other cheek suffering an even harder blow, and  _ fuck _ it was exquisite. 

Vegeta was panting, speechless and throbbing with need, and he gasped when Kakarot seized his chin and forced him to meet his gaze. “Look at you,” Kakarot marveled, and Vegeta could only imagine the mess of arousal and pain he must have looked. “All tied up and at my mercy, letting me slap you around like you’re my…”

“Your what?” Vegeta questioned, the need for him to finish that sentence burning as brightly as the need he felt all through his body.  _ “Say it _ , Kakarot.”

Kakarot hesitated only a moment before his gaze hardened and he leaned into Vegeta’s ear, breath warm and tickling as he murmured, “ _ Like you’re my whore. _ ”

Vegeta roared. Roared with anger, with the need to prove the third class wrong, with the desire to prove him  _ right _ and submit and be the best damn whore a Saiyan could ever have. His ki flared, his aura glowing golden, and Kakarot chuckled as he pulled away. 

“Power down, Vegeta,” he murmured, putting a few inches of distance between them. “I’m not touching you until you do.”

“Fuck you, Kakarot,” Vegeta spat, glaring at him and struggling with the warring desires to keep raising his power level and to obey Kakarot’s orders. Vegeta was his prince, his superior, the one who should be giving commands and watching in satisfaction as Kakarot obeyed them, and yet all his body wanted to do was submit and subvert those roles. 

Kakarot chuckled again, his gaze impressively hard. “I’m gonna be the one doing the fucking tonight, Vegeta. If you do as I say.”

And with that, Vegeta roared again and reached Super Saiyan 2. He strained against the ki cuffs, the damn things hurting like hell as they squeezed until his hands and feet were painfully numb. “I am your Prince!” he yelled, arguing with himself as much as with Kakarot. “It should be you at my mercy, at my feet, begging for me.”

“Yeah,” Kakarot hummed, raising his finger again. “But it isn’t.”

Another flash of light, and a fifth ki cuff wrapped itself around Vegeta’s neck. His head knocked back against the boulder and he sucked in a breath as the cuff tightened, and  _ fuck _ he might actually come without being touched even once. 

“And it’s not because we’re not equals,” Kakarot added, floating closer to him again. “Because I think we are. It’s because you don’t really want that. And you know it.”

Vegeta growled, looking Kakarot in the eyes. “You know nothing.”

Kakarot smiled, not a touch of malice anywhere to be found. “I know  _ you _ . Now power down.”

“Fuck off.” 

Kakarot flexed his fist and the cuff around Vegeta’s neck tightened. “Now, Vegeta.”

“Fuck y-“

An unexpectedly vicious slap to the face sending a shockwave of pleasure straight to his cock, Vegeta gasped and moaned out into the night. He could hardly breathe, the cuff was so tight, but the more lightheaded he grew the more his pleasure and arousal increased. He trembled, burning up all over, the crackling electricity of his energy growing rather than fading. 

Then Kakarot grabbed the top of Vegeta’s hair at his scalp, pulling hard and growling, “Power down and I’ll let you come.”

Vegeta let out an ear-piercing roar, straining hard enough to nearly break the bonds but just falling short and only bringing more pain to his poor limbs. He expected another slap but, as he was quickly discovering, Kakarot was all about subverting his expectations these days. 

Instead of hurting him and prolonging his torture, Kakarot leaned in close and breathed against his mouth for a moment before bringing his lips back to his ear, where he whispered softly, alluringly, “Come on, Vegeta. Power down, give into me. Give into your Kakarot.”

And those were the words that finally broke him. Kakarot’s hand brushed lightly over Vegeta’s clothed cock before he’d even finished saying the words, and then Vegeta was coming hard in his pants and powering down to his base level. Golden hair faded to black, and as an orgasm so strong and so overwhelming it seemed impossible wracked through his body, Vegeta tensed and tensed and  _ tensed _ and then went limp. 

Kakarot vanished the ki cuffs, and Vegeta fell like a rag doll. Kakarot caught him with a chuckle, then furrowed his brows in concern when he looked him over and discovered that he’d… well, he’d sort of… blacked out. 

Slight panic overtaking him, Kakarot quickly teleported them back to Capsule Corp, to Vegeta and Bulma’s empty bedroom. He laid the seemingly unconscious prince in his bed, standing over him and nudging his visibly sore cheek as he murmured, “‘Geta? Hey, Vegeta? You okay? Did I hurt you? Vegeta!”

But there was no real response. Vegeta was breathing and his color was fine, but his eyes were closed and he appeared to be checked out. Not necessarily asleep, but checked out. Kakarot bit his lip and debated on going and finding Bulma for help before deciding to save that as a last resort, racing off to the bathroom to wet a towel and use it to hopefully rouse Vegeta. 

Meanwhile, Vegeta was… floating. He wasn’t asleep, not even unconscious, but he wasn’t quite there either. He felt weightless, like he had ascended to a new plane of existence where everything was just… peace. He couldn’t talk, couldn’t think, and couldn’t have responded to Kakarot’s pleas even if he’d wanted to. 

But like all things in life, eventually it began to pass. Bliss and peace began to give way to noise, to feelings - silk sheets on his body and a cold, wet cloth on his brow - and a deep voice calling to him, begging him to come back. 

Vegeta slowly opened his eyes, blinking several times and not knowing quite where he was at first. “Kakarot?”

“Oh, thank goodness!” came the unmistakable voice, the relief within it palpable. “Oh man, I thought I’d - I thought I’d gone too far and really hurt you. Are you okay? Are you -“

Vegeta felt strange. He tried to sit up - he was in his and Bulma’s bed, he realized, and he was naked - but he instantly sunk back down. He felt like he weighed a ton, and as he tried to make sense of what was happening, he began to shake almost uncontrollably, as if he had a high fever. 

“Oh,” Kakarot frowned, watching Vegeta’s teeth chatter as he tried to wrap himself up tighter in the covers. “Hold on, I’ll be right back.” Less than a minute later, he had piled three more blankets on Vegeta and was shoving a glass of water into his face, which Vegeta refused at first but eventually accepted hungrily. Once the glass was drained, Kakarot slid under the sheets with him and pulled him close, something Vegeta normally wouldn’t be crazy about, but his warmth was incredibly soothing. He let Kakarot envelop him, finding a strange comfort in his presence and snuggling closer to him, feeling himself slowly recenter as the moments ticked by. It took some time, but eventually he felt fully like himself again. 

“What the hell was that?” Vegeta grumbled, Kakarot wrapped around him from behind like an overly affectionate octopus. “What did you do to me?”

“I don’t know,” Kakarot sighed, breathing against the back of his neck. “Nothing on purpose. Once you came you just… it was like nobody was home.”

“It wasn’t… unpleasant,” Vegeta frowned, thinking back on the strange floaty feeling. “At least until the shaking started.”

“Maybe it was too much,” Kakarot said, his tone clearly worried. “Maybe I pushed you too far, your energy and - I don’t know. I’m sorry.”

“Stop your blubbering,” Vegeta rolled his eyes, pulling away from the younger man and sitting up. He ran a hand through his hair, no longer feeling strange and heavy but definitely feeling worn out. “I’m fine.”

Kakarot sat up next to him, looking him over as if to verify those words for himself. “I was really scared.”

Vegeta raised a brow at him. “What did you think? That I was dying from an orgasm?”

“I don’t know! I don’t know, I just…” Kakarot sighed and leaned in, seizing Vegeta’s face and kissing him with a kind of intensity that Vegeta wasn’t expecting. The kiss was a short lived but frantic thing, and when Kakarot broke away he confessed, “It’s one thing to… to hurt you when I know you like it and you want it. But the idea that I might have really hurt you… it’s not something I ever wanna feel again.”

Vegeta found it difficult to maintain eye contact when Kakarot was looking at him with such earnestness, so much emotion in those dark eyes. He looked away, brushing off Kakarot’s hands and muttering, “I’m fine, it’s over.”

Silence fell then, Kakarot looking down at his fidgeting hands and Vegeta feeling unnerved by whole thing. It was a shame, considering the activities that had preceded it had been among the most intensely pleasurable of his life. And neither of them had even been shirtless at the time. 

Speaking of which… 

“Why did you undress me?”

Kakarot’s eyes flew up and he smiled shyly, hand rubbing at the back of his neck. “Oh, I just - well, I figured you wouldn’t wanna wake up to your pants being all uh… sticky.”

Vegeta then took note of Kakarot’s own state of undress. “And why are  _ you _ naked?”

“I took my clothes off when you started shaking,” he explained. “Y’know. Body heat. Skin to skin.”

Vegeta narrowed his eyes. Kakarot kept smiling and chuckling under his breath. 

“So… you hungry, Vegeta?”

—

“You know Kakarot,” Vegeta mused as he fell back against the pillows, belly full and energy wholly restored, “I have to admit - a naked midnight buffet in bed was one of your better ideas.”

“Told ya,” Kakarot grinned, laying down next to him and letting out a long, luxurious sigh. “I hope Bulma won’t mind a trip to the grocery store tomorrow. We cleaned out half the fridge.”

Vegeta grunted noncommittedly. “The woman keeps three refrigerators stocked. The other two are just in capsules at the moment.”

“Oh, cool.” Kakarot glanced over at Vegeta, looking him over before asking, “How are you feeling?”

“Good as new,” Vegeta replied, eyes closed and hands folded behind his head. “Aside from a bit of lingering soreness on my throat and wrists, but that’s hardly worth complaining about.”

Kakarot bit his lip. “Sorry if any of that was too much. I tried to follow your lead but I think I got a little carried away, and -“

Vegeta frowned and turned a half-glare upon the Saiyan. “Don’t insult me, Kakarot. You know damn well I can take  _ far _ more than what little pain I allowed you to inflict upon me.”

“I know, but Vegeta,” Kakarot replied quietly, “as fun as that was, I think if we ever do it again we need some… rules. Safety nets.”

Vegeta blinked in confusion. “... Like a safe word?”

“A what?”

“A safe word is a word used during sex that means stop without actually saying stop,” Vegeta explained. 

“Oh… but why not just say stop?”

Vegeta rolled his eyes. “Because sometimes one might say stop without actually meaning it. It can be part of the fun.”

Kakarot grinned. “Sounds like you’re speaking from experience.”

Vegeta blushed and turned away. “If you want me to spill all the details of my sex life with Bulma, you can think again.”

“I don’t,” Kakarot chuckled. “Don’t worry. But seriously, maybe we need to come up with one of those. The safe word thing.”

“Fine. Mine will be… ah… Yamcha.”

Kakarot nearly hit the ceiling. “ _ Yamcha _ ?! Why Yamcha?!”

“Because I hate Yamcha,” Vegeta chuckled, imagining calling out that imbecile’s name during sex to immediately bring an end to it. It would be hysterical. “Your turn.”

“Um… Namek,” Kakarot replied, coming up with it far quicker than Vegeta had expected. 

“Why Namek?”

“Well,” Kakarot replied as he turned on his side to face Vegeta, “to be honest… Namek was the first time I caught a glimpse of the real you. After Namek I knew that you could change, that you could be a good man.”

Vegeta scoffed and turned away, pretending the back of his eyes weren’t stinging just a little bit. “Sentimental fool.”

“That’s me,” Kakarot grinned, and then Vegeta let out an undignified yelp as he found himself suddenly pulled back against that blasted broad chest, Kakarot’s leg landing over both of his own and trapping him. 

“Fuck, Kakarot, what are you doing?” Vegeta grumbled, struggling against his hold on principle, but Kakarot wasn’t letting go. “Let me go, you -“

“Uh uh,” Kakarot shook his head, nuzzling Vegeta’s neck and breathing him in. “God, why do you always smell so good?”

“Because unlike some people I actually bathe regularly,” Vegeta shot back, half-heartedly slapping at him. “Now unhand me.”

“Make me,” Kakarot murmured, licking a stripe up Vegeta’s neck for emphasis. 

“Have it your way,” Vegeta growled, and before Kakarot could so much as breathe in, Vegeta had him on his back with his wrists pinned at his sides. Vegeta straddled his hips, smirking down at his prey. “You were saying?”

Kakarot grinned lazily, melting under his touch. “Mm, you got me, ‘Geta. You’re just so  _ strong… _ ”

Vegeta rolled his eyes, shifting his hips just so and finding himself entirely unsurprised to find the other man half-hard. “Mhm. Well… I suppose it’s my turn to take care of you, is it not?”

“Only if you wanna,” Kakarot replied, his eyes a little dreamy as they gazed into Vegeta’s. “I’m happy just enjoying the view.”

“I bet you are,” Vegeta mused, running a palm up Kakarot’s abs and over the swell of his pecs. “And what would you ask of your prince?”

Kakarot bit his lip, breath hitching as Vegeta’s fingertips played with his nipples. “Ah… I… anything.”

Vegeta hummed. “Surely there’s something you would prefer. You might be easy to please, but that doesn’t mean you don’t have a favorite.”

“Your mouth,” Kakarot sighed, closing his eyes as the words left his mouth. “Kami I love your mouth.”

Vegeta smirked, pleased to hear this. “And is that your favorite part of me?”

Kakarot shook his head, his cheeks flushing prettily as he confessed, “Nothing’s as good as being inside you.”

Vegeta’s wandering hands paused of their own accord, and Kakarot took the opportunity to bring his hands to Vegeta’s hips and run them slowly up and down his body. 

“You’re so tight and warm,” Kakarot purred, and the words seemed to light Vegeta’s skin on fire. “It’s incredible. And the way you shake and moan around me… your face when you’re overwhelmed… it’s beautiful, Vegeta.  _ You’re _ beautiful.”

At those stunning words, Vegeta experienced two very powerful knee-jerk reactions; the first was to push Kakarot out of bed and never let him touch him like this again, never let him make him feel so… vulnerable as he did now. But the second… the second was the stronger urge, the one that felt right, and Vegeta chose it without another thought. He leaned down and crushed their lips together. 

The flame between them roaring back to life, it was all too easy to get swept away in the effortless heat. This time it was all passion, the games from earlier that night staying in the past as they kissed and touched and fought lazily for control. Vegeta found Kakarot’s seemingly unstoppable urge to be on top endearing, but he had an idea that took precedence over humoring the younger man. 

“Stay down,” he told Kakarot upon the third time getting him down on his back. Then he grabbed the lube from the table to his left and left it besides Kakarot’s head before flipping himself around, reversing himself on top of the other man and bringing his face inches from his cock. He didn’t hesitate to wrap his hand around it and start stroking, but Kakarot seemed confused by the current position. 

“I… uh…”

Vegeta rolled his eyes and looked over his shoulder. “Get me ready while I suck you off.”

Kakarot stared at the ass in his face as if he’d never seen it before, wide eyed and flushed, and Vegeta gritted his teeth before giving his cock a light but pointed tap. “ _ Kakarot _ .”

“Oh! Sorry,” Kakarot squeaked, blushing deeper and quickly grabbing the lube. Vegeta snorted under his breath and turned back to the object of his interest, wrapping his hand around the base of the cock before dragging his tongue up the length of it. Kakarot shivered and groaned beneath him, and Vegeta smirked. 

But then Kakarot continued to seemingly procrastinate doing his job. His hands were all over Vegeta, groping and massaging at his ass and thighs and teasing but ultimately doing nothing all while Vegeta was slowly choking himself on his dick. He was about to pull off and demand that he  _ get fucking to it _ when an unexpected, startlingly hot sensation made him gasp and pull away to immediately whip his head around. When he saw what Kakarot had done - what he was doing - his eyes widened and his jaw dropped. 

“Ka… Kakarot,” he whimpered -  _ whimpered _ . “What are you -“

Kakarot glanced up shyly from between his cheeks, hands holding them apart as he smiled and shrugged. “I was curious. Do you like it?”

“I -“

He gasped again as Kakarot  _ licked _ him, circling his tongue and teasing and making Vegeta feel like he might just vibrate out of his very skin. He turned his head back around, staring dumbly at nothing as he grappled with whether or not he actually liked it. Then Kakarot groaned as if he was  _ definitely _ enjoying it, and then he did  _ something _ with his tongue and Vegeta was sold, moaning  _ oh fuck keep doing that _ and taking him back deep into his throat. 

They moved together in a filthy, harmonious rhythm, Vegeta’s blow job growing sloppier and wetter the more deeply Kakarot devoured him. Vegeta stopped caring about finesse, their animalistic sides taking charge as they let their instincts run wild and take them where it would. It was freeing and dirty and  _ incredible _ , and Vegeta didn’t even notice when he gave up entirely and just laid his cheek on Kakarot’s thigh and surrendered to the pleasure. He only realized it when Kakarot gently moved them, shifting Vegeta to lay on his stomach on the bed while he knelt behind him and continued his assault. 

Fisting his hands in the sheets, Vegeta dropped his face to the mattress and shuddered as Kakarot slipped one and then two fingers inside him, working him so well it was hard to believe he was still new at all of this.  _ Fucking natural talent at everything, _ some small and perpetually angry part of his brain muttered, until Kakarot’s breathless voice stopped his train of thought. 

“Kami,” he sighed, giving his tongue a break as his fingers continued to move in and out. “So good, ‘Geta,” Kakarot murmured almost lovingly, his free hand sliding up and down Vegeta’s lower back. His fingertips lightly grazed Vegeta’s tail scar, his middle one pressing gently down on it absentmindedly. “So gorgeous and -“ 

Vegeta let out an inhuman roar, arched up suddenly and then collapsed back down on his face just as quickly, trembling with a whole-body pleasure that had taken him completely by shock. Kakarot froze, thinking he’d hurt him for a split second before realizing that was far from the case. Then he gently rubbed the little scar again and lost his breath as Vegeta  _ whined _ , writhing and tearing the sheets in his grip. 

Kakarot stared at him in wonder, fingers of both hands working both places, and what he did next only felt natural. He leaned down and ran his tongue over the scar, and that was when Vegeta  _ screamed _ at him to stop. Kakarot leapt off of him at once, no safeword necessary, and he sat wide eyed on his knees as Vegeta scrambled to all fours, his cheeks tear-streaked and flushed and eyes wild, body curled like a predator ready to strike. 

“.... Vegeta -“

“Shut up,” Vegeta snarled, climbing into his lap and grabbing his cock, lube be damned. He was wet enough by now and he didn’t even care, lowering himself down until Kakarot was seated deep within him. He groaned at the pleasure and satisfaction that overcame him, clutching Kakarot’s shoulders and letting his head drop back a little bit as he let all the sensations wash over him. 

Kakarot just sat there, eyes soft and lips parted under an imperceptibly small smile, holding on to Vegeta’s hips as they sat still and soaked the other in. His eyes raked over the smaller man, admiring every inch of his scarred, sweat-slicked, tanned skin, their hearts pounding in unison as Vegeta slowly started moving. 

But Kakarot wasn’t ready yet. 

“Wait,” he murmured, and Vegeta’s eyes opened with clear annoyance written in them. But Kakarot paid it no mind, titling his chin up with his fingers and leaning in to kiss him slowly.  _ Tenderly _ . Affectionately. 

At first Vegeta didn’t close his eyes, staring in confusion at Kakarot and not kissing back at first. Normally their kisses were hard and unforgiving, just as Vegeta liked them, but this was different. Almost unnervingly so, but Kakarot didn’t seem to agree. He kissed him slow and soft until Vegeta’s eyes finally rolled shut and he began to kiss him back, opting to ignore the concerning way that his heart thudded as he did so. 

When it was over, Kakarot didn’t go far. He leaned his forehead against Vegeta’s, and Vegeta opened his eyes and watched as Kakarot panted and finally started moving. Vegeta followed suit, languidly rolling his hips as they built a lazy rhythm together, staring into the younger man’s face until his eyes finally opened. 

Kakarot smiled, and it felt like the sun. Vegeta swallowed, brows furrowing and part of his brain screaming  _ danger danger! _ but it was too late. That ship had sailed, so he decided to just crash their lips together again and try to ignore everything but the intoxicating waves of pleasure rocking through them. And it almost worked. 

He was bouncing up and down in Kakarot’s lap and sucking a deep purple bruise into the juncture of his neck and shoulder when the faintest hint of tobacco hit his nose. At first he didn’t think anything of it, but it didn’t take long for his brain to process the implications of the scent. 

He looked up and over Kakarot’s shoulder, towards the bedroom door that was just slightly ajar. He was both shocked and not surprised at all to see none other than Bulma standing there, clad in the overalls she often wore during labwork, lit cigarette between her fingers, and a hungry look in her blue eyes as she watched her husband fuck another man. 

The second their eyes met, a knowing smirk crossed the woman’s lips. Vegeta’s gaze darkened, and he kept his eyes on her as he began picking up the pace, fucking himself harder on the other man’s cock. She brought the cigarette to her lips and took a lazy drag, her facade of nonchalance impressive. Vegeta growled and bit down on the bruise he’d left on Kakarot, sinking his nails into his back and making Kakarot yelp and cry out his name. All the while, he stared at his wife as if to say  _ that’s right, woman. Watch me take his cock, watch me fuck your oldest friend in our bed. Watch him come inside me _ . 

The unexpected voyeurism made Vegeta’s pleasure increase tenfold. He started riding Kakarot hard and fast, desperate to reach the peak he needed so badly, and to his relief Kakarot was right there with him. He grasped Vegeta harder, kissed him roughly, grabbed his hips to help move him up and down at a frantic pace, and it wasn’t long before he was murmuring, “Vegeta, I’m -“

“So am I,” Vegeta confirmed, and he only had time to briefly glance to Bulma one last time before Kakarot’s fingers were pressing into the scar at his lower back again and that was it, he was coming long and hard and  _ loud _ and nothing else mattered. 

When it was all over, after Kakarot had ridden out his own orgasm and filled Vegeta with his warmth, they were left clinging to one another and panting hard. Vegeta’s forehead was on Kakarot’s shoulder, his body sated and exhausted once more. Against his own wishes, he lifted his heavy head just enough to peek over Kakarot’s shoulder towards the door. It was closed now, and Bulma was gone. He let out a breath and laid his head back down, and he didn’t protest when Kakarot shifted and laid them down together in the long-ruined sheets. 

_ Vulgar woman, _ he mused with a smile, hiding it against Kakarot’s chest. He would get her back for this, without a doubt. But that was a thought for another time. For now, he decided as he closed his eyes, he would rest. 

And pointedly ignore everything that had happened tonight that he didn’t understand. 

  
  
  
  
  
  



	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vegeta learns what subspace is, Trunks starts to suspect that something weird is going on, Goku is a well-meaning idiot, and complications begin to arise. And more stuff happens.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everybody, sorry for the delay in this chapter. I’ve had the first half written for ages but couldn’t figure out what to do with the rest of it until I had a burst of inspiration today. Hopefully it’s all right :) thank you guys so much for your kudos and comments, they mean so much to me especially for how new I am to writing for these characters, it is SUCH a relief to see you guys enjoying this and your comments keep me going :D

_ One week later  _

“It’s called subspace.”

Vegeta didn’t flinch as Bulma tossed a tablet down in front of him, his cheeks full as he chewed through several sausage links at once. He swallowed and looked up at her curiously as she sat down at the breakfast table next to him, a bowl of oatmeal in her hands as opposed to Vegeta’s eleventy billion plates of food. The kids were still in bed, not much for their parents’ early wake up times, allowing the couple some time just to themselves before their days started. 

Bulma took a bite and gestured to the tablet. Vegeta then muttered, “Woman, I’m trying to enjoy my breakfast.”

She rolled her eyes and snatched away the plate of sausages, knowing them to be his favorite. “You get these back after you start reading.”

Vegeta growled but acquiesced anyway, taking the damn tablet and scanning his eyes over the webpage Bulma seemed so intent on him reading. It took only seconds for him to realize what he was reading, a faint blush rising to his cheeks as Bulma smirked. 

“I was pretty sure I knew what happened as soon as you told me,” Bulma told him, watching his eyes widen the further he read. “But I wanted to do some research first and make sure. It’s never happened to me.”

Words like  _ dominant _ and  _ submissive _ and  _ euphoria _ and  _ feral, incoherent state _ danced before Vegeta’s eyes and he was at once horrified and fascinated. His pride and very soul bristled at the notion of being the submissive to Kakarot’s dominant, even if he knew that  _ was _ technically the dynamic they were developing and enjoying with each other. Beyond that, the idea of being brought to such a helpless, weak state where he was at anyone’s mercy for any extended period of time was enough to make panic prickle at the edges of his mind. 

“Before you start freaking out,” Bulma said over a cup of coffee cradled in her hands, “it’s a good thing.”

“How could this be good?!” Vegeta all but spat, looking up at her in slight horror. “This is - I’m nobody’s submissive, least of all Kakarot!”

Bulma rolled her eyes. “Okay, you know what? No, we’re gonna nip this in the bud. Listen to me. You and me? We’ve done plenty of this kind of play for a long time. Not as intense as what you boys have been getting up to, but that’s because I like my spine intact. Point is, I like you calling the shots. Most of the time, anyway. A lot of what we do fits within the standard dom/sub parameters, with me as the sub, and let me tell you - you might think you have the power during sex, but that’s just your ego talking. We both know I call the shots.”

Vegeta’s eyes narrowed. He knew she was right, but… “Woman, it’s hardly the same.”

“It actually is,” she shrugged. “My pleasure and my safety are your top priorities, same way yours is Goku’s when you two are together. He might be the one doing the pushing and the pulling but that’s because you want him to and because you’ve allowed him to. You hold all the real power.”

“I hold no power if I slip into this blasted  _ subspace _ ,” Vegeta grumbled, glancing back down at the tablet. “I’m a warrior. I must be in control of my own mind at all times.”

Bulma sighed, setting down her coffee cup and reaching over to place her hand on top of his. “Vegeta… it’s peacetime. There’s no war, no enemies lurking around the corner. It’s okay to let go. It’s okay to let yourself be taken care of every once in awhile.”

Vegeta scowled, staring at their hands. “I’m not a child. I don’t need to be taken care of.”

“Uh huh, sure,” Bulma chuckled. “Everyone needs to be taken care of sometimes. Age is irrelevant.”

Vegeta huffed and crossed his arms, sitting back in his seat. Bulma smiled at her husband’s cute, angry pout, downing the rest of her coffee before standing up and stepping to him. 

“Hey,” she murmured, lifting his chin to force his eyes to rise to hers. “Just read up on it some more and think it all over. It’s totally fine if it’s not your thing - it’s not for everyone. But I’d hate it if you missed out on something that might be really good for you just because of your pride and how stubborn you are. We’ve been down that road before, remember?”

“You are ridiculous, woman.”

Bulma grinned and leaned down, pressing a sweet kiss to his lips. “That’s why you love me.”

Before he could respond, she slid the plate of sausages back to him as she’d promised and then sat back down to finish her own breakfast. Vegeta glared at her as he picked his fork back up, though his gaze held no heat or malice as he stabbed one of the links and shoved the whole thing into his mouth. 

Then he looked back down to the tablet, barely suppressing a growl as those offensive words came into view once more. 

_ Hmph. The Prince of all Saiyans is no submissive, _ he assured himself silently, finding the entire idea preposterous. After all, he had been the one to initiate this strange sexual arrangement between himself and Kakarot, and he was the more skilled of the two. He had taught Kakarot what he now knew, and Kakarot followed  _ his _ lead, just as he should. And while thus far that meant indulging Vegeta in the violence-tinged rough sex he’d never been able to experience with his wife, with Vegeta being on the receiving end of ki bondage and merciless slaps and that deliciously punishing cock, that didn’t mean Vegeta was  _ submitting _ to him. Right? 

… Right? 

—

Normally Vegeta ate lunch later than the rest of his family, his daily training pushing the meal into the mid-afternoon, but that day was different. His mind was so muddled by what he’d read in the morning that his focus was woefully poor, and he ended up deciding that an early lunch break might do him some good. 

“Trunks, stop antagonizing your sister,” Bulma admonished the boy when he decided to steal a few berries from her plate just to hear her screech in protest. “I’d rather not have to deal with another hole blasted through the wall because you pissed her off.”

“Well, how else is she gonna learn how to control her ki blasts?” Trunks replied playfully, sticking his tongue out at Bulla as she growled at him. 

“You know, when you were her age you never blasted anything,” Bulma sighed, side-eyeing Vegeta. “It’s almost like training a child before they’re even out of diapers is a bad idea.”

“Quiet, woman,” Vegeta brushed her off, wolfing down his seventh sandwich. “My only mistake with Trunks was letting you delay his training for so long.”

Bulma gaped. “He was  _ four _ !”

“Yes, and look at him now!” Vegeta waved towards Trunks, whose eyes widened in offense. “He’d rather go behave foolishly with Kakarot’s brat than take his training seriously. I’ll not have my daughter repeat the cycle and become yet another slacker.”

“Hey!” Trunks objected around a mouthful of rice. “M’not a slacker! And half the time me and Goten are sparring anyway, so it counts as training!”

Vegeta scoffed. “At the rate you’re going, your sister will surpass you before she begins kindergarten.”

“Yeah!” Bulla squeaked happily, sending a ki blast straight towards her brothers face. He dodged it easily, and the blast scuffed the floor as Bulma groaned. 

“No ki blasts at the table!” Bulma shouted, but Vegeta winked at his daughter. She smiled back happily, and he’d never admit that he could likely power an entire solar system with the warmth that his annoying little brats filled his heart with. 

But then the moment was ruined by the sudden materialization of Kakarot, directly behind Vegeta’s chair. Bulma let out a squeak of shock, nearly choking on her food, and Bulla cheered “Uncle Kaka!” while Trunks took advantage of her distraction to steal some more of her food. 

Vegeta merely groaned and dropped the remainder of his sandwich to his plate. 

“Hey guys!” Kakarot chirped, all smiles as always. “Sorry if I scared you there, Bulma. I figured you’d be used to this by now.”

Coughing, Bulma glared at him and snapped, “No, Goku, I’m never gonna be used to you suddenly teleporting into my house without warning! We’ve talked about this - call first unless it’s an emergency. I know you have a phone, since I’m the one who gave it to you!”

“Oh, yeah, but I always forget,” Kakarot shrugged, stepping around to smile at Vegeta. “Hey, ‘Geta!”

Vegeta glared at him, both loving and hating his casual usage of that nickname. “What do you want, clown?”

“Well,” Kakarot shoved out his arms to show Vegeta the giant serving plate in his hands, stacked tall with steaming roasted fish. “Me and Goten were training and I caught us some lunch but for once there was too much for us to finish. I figured maybe you might want some?”

Vegeta’s eyes widened. He looked from the fish to Kakarot’s stupid happy face and then back to the fish, stuttering, “I - but - what -“

“It’s pretty good, fresh off the fire,” Kakarot added, somewhat awkwardly setting it down on the table in front of Vegeta. Then he stood there and scratched the back of his neck, cheeks reddening as everyone in the room save Bulla stared at him as if he had three heads. 

Vegeta, quite obviously, was married to the richest woman in the world and thus had access to the finest foods that the world had to offer whenever he pleased. Even with three voracious Saiyans living in the house, there was always plenty of food to go around and several employees always available to go and make grocery runs if need be. The idea, then, of this country bumpkin catching a giant fish and cooking it over an open fire in the wilderness and deciding that it was a swell idea to share it with Vegeta - after, apparently, stopping at home to grab a nice serving dish too - it was odd, to put it mildly. 

It was so strange, in fact, that Vegeta had no idea what to do besides accept the gift politely. “Thank you.”

Kakarot beamed. “You’re welcome!”

Trunks blinked. He stared at Goku, who was blushing like a weirdo, and then at his father who was also kind of red and staring at the fish like it might turn into a bomb and detonate any second, and then finally he glanced at his mother to find her grinning affectionately at them both. Like she knew something nobody else did. 

Icy blue eyes landed back on Goku and Vegeta, the wheels in Trunks’ head spinning. He was a kid, not stupid, and he hadn’t forgotten that time him and Goten had caught them kissing at Chi-Chi’s birthday party. 

“Well anyway, guess I’ll catch you later,” Kakarot said, shifting on his feet like he couldn’t quite stand still. “Wanna spar later? After dinner maybe?”

Vegeta flushed furiously then, opening his mouth but apparently unable to say a word. Bulma barely suppressed a snort and replied, “I’m sure he’d love to. He’s all yours tonight, I’ve got work to do.”

Kakarot then smiled almost shyly at Bulma. “Thanks.”

She winked at him. “No problem.”

Then Kakarot glanced back at Vegeta, the two men sharing a strangely unreadable look before he pressed two fingers to his forehead and vanished. After he was gone, Vegeta stared at the fish for roughly five seconds before standing up and storming off, presumably to resume training for the rest of the afternoon. (Or to scream into the void for a bit - who could know?)

Bulma smiled to herself, glancing down at her plate before noticing the curious eyes of her son on her. She then schooled her features and cleared her throat, telling him, “Finish your lunch, Trunks.”

“What’s up with them?” Trunks asked bluntly. “They’ve been acting weird for awhile now, ever since me and Goten saw them -“ His eyes widened and he immediately shut up, remembering how Vegeta had bribed both kids to pretend they’d never seen anything. 

Bulma narrowed her eyes, immediately thinking the worst. “Saw them what?”

“Nothing.”

“ _ Trunks _ ,” Bulma intoned, staring him down. “You better tell me right now unless you don’t want to see Goten any time soon.”

Trunks groaned, defeated. Life without his best friend was painfully lame and therefore not an option. “It’s just… Dad told us not to say anything and took us to Super World to make sure we didn’t.”

Bulma’s eyebrows flew up. “Trunks, tell me what you saw right now or so help me -“

“They were kissing! Dad and Goku, at Chi-Chi’s birthday party,” Trunks blurted. “And Goku said it was some weird kind of training but that was obviously a lie. I just didn’t wanna tell you and make Dad mad.”

Bulma visibly deflated with relief. “Oh thank Kami,” she groaned as Trunks grew even more confused. “Listen, adult friendships and relationships can get a little…”

“Weird?” Trunks guessed. 

“Yes, but I was thinking more  _ complicated _ ,” Bulma replied. She hadn’t really prepared for this talk but she figured it was best to take a direct approach, no use in lying to the boy after all. “Goku and your father have a long and… strange history. To be honest, I don’t think I’ll ever understand all the nuances of their relationship but I don’t really need to. All I know is that they need each other and they always have. And sometimes the ways that people need each other change over the years.”

Trunks listened to her carefully, nodding before asking cautiously, “So does this mean you and Dad are gonna get divorced?”

“No!” Bulma assured him wholeheartedly, her heart aching a little that he’d even worry about such a thing. “No, Trunks, you don’t have to worry about that at all, I promise.”

“... Then I don’t get it.”

Bulma took a breath, slowly letting it out. “For most married couples, it’s just the two of them forever. For other couples, sometimes they let other people in as long as they’re both okay with it. Neither way is better than the other - it just comes down to what works best for the couple. And this is what’s working for us right now. Nothing’s changed between us, I promise.”

Trunks mulled that over, and Bulma suspected he was still quite confused. But he accepted what she said anyway and finally nodded. “Okay. Well, I’m glad you guys aren’t getting divorced. I was kinda worried that Dad would go and marry Goku and that would be weird because then Goku would be my  _ other _ dad and Goten would be my brother.”

Bulma chuckled, wishing the poor kid had broken sooner so that she could have put his mind at ease. “You wouldn’t want Goten to be your little brother? You guys are practically siblings anyway.”

Trunks made a face. “Nah, he’s my best friend, not my brother.”

Bulma tilted her head slightly, surprised that Trunks would make that distinction. She’d always seen the two boys as two peas in a pod, brothers in all but blood, and she’d never wondered if the boys themselves saw it differently. Shrugging it off, Bulma returned to the subject at hand. “Well, in any case - don’t say anything to anyone else, okay? It’s not anyone’s business but Goku and your father’s. So promise me that you’ll keep it to yourself.”

“Yeah, duh,” Trunks nodded. “It’s gross - why would I wanna talk to people about it?”

Bulma chuckled and ruffled his lavender hair. “Just making sure.” She then glanced to Bulla only to find that the girl was no longer in her seat. “Oh, dammit - where did your sister go?”

“She’s under the table,” Trunks shrugged, “chewing on my foot.”

Bulma made a disgusted face and yelled under the table for Bulla to stop, quietly blamed the weird behavior on Vegeta’s genes as always, and then got up to put Goku’s roasted fish offering away before it went bad. Life with these Saiyans was sure never dull, that was for sure. 

—

Never before had something so insignificant as a pile of roasted fish so thoroughly vexed Vegeta and made him feel woefully off-kilter. 

He spent the rest of the day training, going through the grueling motions without really feeling any of it, lost in thought and maintaining a mild sense of panic that managed to last for hours. The worst part of it all, possibly, was the fact that he didn’t even know  _ why _ it bothered him so much and why Kakarot’s gesture was so unsettling. After all, it was just a damn plate of fish. Kakarot was annoyingly thoughtful like that and when he really thought about it, he could almost convince himself that it really wasn’t so strange. 

Except it was. It  _ really _ was. 

Still, it didn’t stop him from showering and getting ready for the late spar he’d promised the other man. He didn’t bother with his armor this time, opting for a black tank and sweats instead - easier to remove, which was of course where the night would surely end. Once he’d hastily scarfed down a hearty dinner - which did  _ not _ include the damn fish - Vegeta then walked outside and crossed his arms, waiting for Kakarot to pop up and transport them wherever they would spar this particular night. 

He slipped a hand into his pocket, double checking the small bottle of lube he’d stashed in there earlier. He then scowled at nothing in particular and resumed his crossed-arms stance, wondering what his younger planet-purging self would think of him now - standing outside of his cozy Earthling family home, waiting for his third class idiot lover to show up and whisk him off somewhere to knock him around a bit before bending him over and fucking him until he screamed. 

Then again, Vegeta didn’t really care what that version of himself would think.  _ That _ Vegeta had been weak and foolish, driven by madness and ego and little else. His days of thinking himself lesser for no longer killing indiscriminately and having a happy and loving family were long over, thanks in large part to - 

“Hey Vegeta!”

“Argh!” Vegeta roared, whipping around and glaring at the always-smiling Kakarot. “Why must you always do that?!”

Kakarot held his hands up and giggled. He was in his orange gi as usual, though he’d foregone the blue weighted undershirt - less to remove. “Sorry! Ready to go?”

“Yes,” Vegeta grumbled as Kakarot held out his hand. He glared down at the limb as if it was personally insulting to him before rolling his eyes and taking it anyway, and a blink of an eye later they were standing in the middle of nowhere. Vegeta blinked and looked around, seeing little but hills and trees and more hills under the light of the half-moon, and he had no idea where they were. “Kakarot, where are w-“

Lips pressed to his before he could finish, Kakarot’s hands flying to his face as he kissed him unexpectedly hard and insistent. Vegeta had no choice but to kiss back, indulging Kakarot until he pulled away slowly, his breathing already labored. 

“Sorry,” Kakarot muttered, hands still lingering on Vegeta’s face and neck. “I wanted to kiss you earlier but figured it wasn’t a good idea, in front of everyone.”

Vegeta’s head already spinning, he stared at Kakarot until he came back to his senses and gently tugged his hands away. “Where are we, Kakarot?”

Kakarot’s face lit up. “Oh! It’s a surprise.”

Vegeta’s brows lowered. “A surprise?”

Kakarot beamed. “Uh huh! I think you’re gonna like it.”

Vegeta looked around, unimpressed by what surrounded them. It wasn’t even a very good sparring area - far too many trees and other obstructions for his liking. “What kind of -“

Kakarot tugged on his hand. “Come on!” He then took off, all but bouncing on his feet, and Vegeta gritted his teeth and allowed the younger man to drag him off. The trek wasn’t long as the two disappeared into a thicket of trees, their Saiyan eyes seeing much better in the dark than any human could ever hope to, and Vegeta had to admit that his curiosity was piqued. Kakarot only halted his excited steps once he’d led them down a winding path and brought them to what appeared to be the opening to a cave. 

Kakarot was all but vibrating with excitement, and all Vegeta could do was blink at him. “A cave is the surprise?”

Kakarot giggled. “Sort of. C’mon,” he tugged on Vegeta’s hand, and Vegeta sighed as he was yanked into the cave. It was dark and cool inside - unsurprisingly, because cave - and Vegeta was on the verge of experiencing unpleasant worm-related flashbacks when Kakarot steered them down a tunnel to the left, at the end of which flickered what appeared to be firelight. Once they reached the end of the tunnel, the passageway opened up to reveal a large, sprawling cavern. Vegeta stood at the edge next to Kakarot, his eyes widening as he took in his  _ surprise _ . 

The cavern was nothing short of a lovenest built for two. A healthy fire illuminated the space, flickering in a corner and bringing the temperature to a comfortable warmth. There was no bed but rather furs, quite a few of them stacked and tucked around each other to create an invitingly cozy-looking nest. Then there was a mini fridge not far away, undoubtedly a self-powered capsulizable one, and a small dresser. 

Vegeta’s mouth hung open dumbly. 

Kakarot nudged him, all bright smiles and excitement. “What do you think?” When Vegeta continued to stare and say absolutely nothing, Kakarot added, “You see, I realized we needed a place of our own to go to on some nights. Our families are usually at home and it makes it kinda tricky, so I started thinking about where we could go to be alone. I know there’s hotels and stuff but that’s not really us, and buying a whole house seemed like too much. But I remembered finding this place a long time ago and how beautiful it was - there’s a river that runs through the other side of this cave! - and I thought maybe this was the answer. I know there isn’t a bed, but I kinda thought - I know this might sound stupid - but I thought maybe having it like this… it might feel right for us, you know?”

Vegeta finally managed to turn his head and look at Kakarot, his voice still evading him. 

“Because… I dunno, I’ve always liked camping and being outdoors,” Kakarot rambled on, hand on the back of his head. “I like beds but I can live without them. Everyone I know acts like I’m crazy for it but I figured maybe it’s a Saiyan thing and we’re both like that.”

Vegeta took a step towards Kakarot, then another and one more until they were face to face. He grabbed the front of his gi and crushed it in his fist, his eyes blazing into Kakarot’s, a flush on his cheeks as Kakarot’s expression began to grow concerned. 

“Is it… do you not like it?” he asked quietly. “I can change it if you want, maybe get a bed or -“

Vegeta cut him off with a harsh, passionate kiss, pouring everything he didn’t know how to say into the touch. The truth was that he wasn’t sure what was happening or why he was having the reaction that he was, but that was par for the course today it seemed. His lover had found them their own little corner of the world for just the two of them, and he had thought of their shared heritage and what Vegeta would like the most as he’d fixed it up. And that was… it was simply just…  _ so much _ . 

Vegeta kissed Kakarot relentlessly, breaking away only to suck down a much-needed breath and murmur against his lips, “You didn’t want to spar at all tonight, did you?”

Kakarot chuckled and shook his head, palms trailing down Vegeta’s sides. “Nah. Just wanted you, ‘Geta.”

Vegeta smirked, leaning in and taking Kakarot’s lower lip between his teeth. He bit down just hard enough to make the other man moan before pulling away slowly, lifting off his tank top and teasing him, “Well then, come get me, Kakarot.”

Vegeta walked backwards towards the pile of furs, undressing with each step, and Kakarot followed as if a thread was attached between them, tugging him along. He untied his gi and quickly tossed the fabric aside, both men naked by the time their feet touched the soft materials that made up their little den. 

They stood there in the warm light of the fire, hands greedily roaming skin as they kissed deep and fierce. It wasn’t the violent kisses they’d shared in the past but it wasn’t soft either - it was pure passion and lust, undiluted and as potent as the clear, smoke-tinged air around them. 

Kakarot groaned into Vegeta’s mouth, one hand buried in his hair and the other pressed into the small of his back, their bodies pressed close together and rapidly hardening cocks brushing together. “Mm, Vegeta,” he murmured almost dreamily, kissing across Vegeta’s jaw and down his neck. “I’ve missed you.”

Vegeta chuckled, leaning his head to the side and enjoying the sensations as Kakarot kissed and nipped down his throat. “It’s only been a week, Kakarot.”

“I know,” Kakarot sighed, pressing a kiss to the base of his throat, “but it felt like forever. I can’t stop thinking about you.”

That admission making Vegeta’s heart behave strangely in his chest, Vegeta gritted his teeth and decided to exert some control before things grew even more frighteningly sentimental. He placed his hand on Kakarot’s shoulder and shoved him down to his knees, smirking when he looked up at Vegeta curiously. “Why don’t you show me how much you missed me then?”

“‘Course,” Kakarot smirked back, leaning right in and nuzzling the underside of the hard cock in his face with his nose. “Anything for you, my Prince.”

_ Fuck _ , whenever he acknowledged Vegeta’s title, it was like a shot of fire straight through his veins. Vegeta moved a hand to Kakarot’s wild mane of hair and gripped a handful at the root, closing his eyes and sighing as a hot, silky tongue stroked up the length of him before an even hotter mouth swallowed him whole. 

_ Ha _ , a voice crowed in the back of his mind, so  _ much for being Kakarot’s submissive _ . Vegeta was clearly in control and relishing it, and his pride soared alongside his pleasure as a result. To have Earth’s hero at his knees in front of him, choking on his dick in a gorgeous cavern he’d found and prepared just for the Prince himself - could there be any doubt left as to who was truly the dominant one? 

_ To hell with subspace _ , he thought to himself as he dropped his head back, thrusting shallowly into Kakarot’s mouth. Whatever that had been, it was clearly a fluke. He was born to rule, born to lead, and he damn sure wasn’t going to let anyone take that from h- 

“All right,” Kakarot panted as he pulled off, wiping his chin. “Lay down, Vegeta.”

Vegeta’s head snapped up and he glared down at the other man. “No. Keep sucking, Kakarot.”

Kakarot smirked, leaning in and teasingly swirling his tongue along the tip. “Maybe later. For now, I want you on your back.”

Vegeta growled. “How about you finish what you started first?”

“Maybe I’ve got something better in mind,” Kakarot shrugged, though his dark eyes gleamed with mischief. 

“ _ Maybe _ you should follow your Prince’s orders,” Vegeta bit back, not unaware that the bickering only made his cock even harder and more desperate for touch. 

“Maybe,” Kakarot mused, trailing one palm up and over Vegeta’s ass. “Or… maybe the Prince should admit he likes playing by my rules better.”

Two fingers then pressed into Vegeta’s tail scar, and a cry he couldn’t stop flew from his throat and echoed around the cavern as his knees buckled. Kakarot caught him and laid him down before he even knew what was happening, covering Vegeta’s body with his own and wearing a self-satisfied smirk that Vegeta wanted to punch off of his stupid pretty face - so he did. 

Knocking Kakarot to the side with the unexpected blow, Vegeta quickly moved to roll them over but Kakarot recovered rapidly, pinning Vegeta in place with a growl that only served to intensify the arousal pulsing between them. Vegeta thrashed beneath him but Kakarot held him down with his wrists pinned on either side of his head and murmured, “ _ Yield _ .”

“I’ll never yield to you,” Vegeta spat, though the truth was he wasn’t really truly fighting the hold. Not even when Kakarot clasped both of his wrists above his head in one hand to free his other, which wasted no time in wrapping around his throat. 

“You always say that,” Kakarot mused, applying just enough pressure to make Vegeta’s eyes roll blissfully shut for a moment. “But,” he glanced down between them and lined up just right, then started rolling his hips to grind their cocks together, “in the end you’re always underneath me, aren’t you?”

Hating and loving everything about this, Vegeta groaned and cursed how much he couldn’t help but revel in Kakarot’s dominance. His brain told him to fight back, to flip them over and reclaim his place on top, to hold Kakarot down and show him what it was like to be controlled and fucked within an inch of his life, but the truth was… he  _ just didn’t fucking want to _ . 

So instead he jerked his head up and smashed his forehead into Kakarot’s as hard as he could manage, following up the blow with a rasped, “Fuck you.”

Kakarot merely grinned and tightened his grip on Vegeta’s throat, barely fazed by the blow as he replied mischievously, “Ask me nicely and maybe I’ll let you.”

Vegeta shivered, staring up at the other man in surprise. Kakarot’s grin widened briefly before he leaned down and kissed him, the friction building between their bodies as he rocked them together, and Vegeta allowed himself to let go a little bit as he kissed back and let the sensations wash over him. 

And then Kakarot reared back unexpectedly and slapped him  _ hard _ across the face. Vegeta gasped and moaned, face snapping to the side before he turned it back to look up at Kakarot in a surprised sort of daze. Kakarot grinned and slapped him again, this time on his other cheek, and Vegeta thought he just might come from a third slap, but it never came. 

“See, Vegeta?” Kakarot purred, leaning down and kissing below his ear, breathing him in. “You like it this way. You like it when I’m in control, when I hurt you, when I fuck you like you’re nothing more than my plaything.” Vegeta shivered tellingly at those words, and Kakarot chuckled as he licked up his neck. “So why fight it, why fight me? Just surrender, Vegeta, and let me take care of you.”

_ Take care of you _ . Those blasted words mingling with Bulma’s earlier, similar ones, Vegeta growled and prepared to fight back but instead lost his breath as Kakarot suddenly flipped him over, hands like iron on his hips as he yanked them up and then  _ spanked _ him. 

Vegeta let out a roar of both pure pleasure and absolute outrage, whipping his head around to scream at Kakarot but falling short when the younger man just grinned and spanked him again, even harder. Vegeta’s face burned a deep red with anger and humiliation and, worst of all, more arousal than he could handle. He careened forward, face dropping into the soft fur beneath him as his arms gave out, and he inwardly cursed his own acquiescence, closing his now-watering eyes and gripping the fur tightly in his fists as Kakarot dealt delicious blow after blow, rendering Vegeta absolutely useless and lost in sheer  _ bliss _ . 

“You’re so beautiful like this,” Kakarot gushed, admiring a particularly reddened handprint on his ass and fitting his hand over it to match it, then squeezing tightly. “You love this, don’t you? I know  _ I _ do. I can’t get enough of you.”

_ Crack _ . Another blow, and Vegeta let out a noise he didn’t know he was capable of making. It was whiny and pathetic and needy and he hated it, hated how his body was on  _ fire _ and the noise in his brain reduced to almost nothing, a strange sense of peace washing over him despite the pain and chaos of their tryst. 

Then he felt something warm and wet being trickled over him, from his tail scar down, and he shuddered as gentle fingers massaged the lube into his skin. He hummed appreciatively as two fingers then slipped curiously inside of him, hearing Kakarot snort lowly before noting, “Huh, you’re already loose. Been busy, ‘Geta?”

Vegeta ignored him, and Kakarot responded by grabbing his hair with his free hand and wrenching his head back, demanding, “Answer me when I ask you a question.”

Vegeta’s eyes rolled back into his head. Kakarot’s voice was so low, his touch  _ so _ rough and confident and dominating, and fuck he was every bit the Saiyan he was born to be when he was like this. It filled Vegeta with pride and admiration, made his traitorous brain imagine Kakarot decked out in full Saiyan armor and smirking as he stood on top of a pile of freshly slaughtered enemies, a skull crushed under his boot and anarchy in his dark eyes, Vegeta at his side where he belonged, the two of them an unstoppable warrior duo who could bend entire universes to their will if they so chose. 

Kakarot yanked his head back again, even more harshly this time. “I said  _ answer me, Vegeta _ .”

“Yes, Kakarot,” he gasped, barely remembering what the question was. Between the pain at the roots of his hair and the pleasure of the fingers working him expertly inside, Vegeta might have said yes to anything in that moment.  _ Maybe _ . 

“Mm, good,” Kakarot groaned before releasing him and pulling his fingers free. Vegeta fell forward with a thud, breathing hard and not fighting even a little bit as Kakarot pulled his hips back up and nudged his legs further apart, spreading him wide open before finally pressing into him with a deep, rumbling growl. At last Vegeta was  _ full _ , complete, the need within him that he didn’t even understand satisfied now that Kakarot was buried to the hilt inside of him. 

Kakarot leaned over him, pressing his chest to Vegeta’s back as he kissed at the back of his neck and breathed into his skin. “Kami,” Kakarot whispered, tone much softer than it had been a moment ago. “Don’t think I’ll ever get used to how good you feel.”

Vegeta wouldn’t either, but he wouldn’t have admitted it even if his voice had been working properly. As it was, he was all too happy to simply hold on and enjoy himself as Kakarot began fucking into him, breathing hard and occasionally moaning against Vegeta’s ear, sweat dripping from his chest to Vegeta’s back. It was slow at first, just gentle enough to almost prompt a complaint from Vegeta, but he didn’t want to beg for more. He wanted Kakarot to simply take more, to shove his face back down into the furs and start snapping into him at a punishing rate and make it hurt and - 

Kakarot interrupted his thoughts by grabbing him and flipping them over with impressive fluidity, their bodies remaining joined as Kakarot laid on his back and Vegeta laid on top of him, his back to Kakarot’s chest and head laying on his shoulder. Vegeta blinked in surprise at the disorienting change in position, moving to sit up out of reflex only to have Kakarot seize his arms and keep Vegeta pinned back to his chest. 

“Don’t. Move. Just take it.”

Kakarot then slid his hands to Vegeta’s hips, lifted them up until his cock had nearly slid free, and then he slammed Vegeta back down. Vegeta yelled out in pleasure, one hand reaching back to hold on to Kakarot’s hair while the other gripped the fur underneath them, his body surrendering happily to being used and, as Kakarot had said so vulgarly,  _ fucked like a plaything _ . 

It wasn’t even a strain on Kakarot’s muscles to do it, to lift Vegeta up and down and fuck up into him, taking him deeply and ruthlessly, hitting that spot within him with a blinding accuracy each time. He didn’t try to draw it out, either, instead seemingly trying to get Vegeta there as quickly and intensely as he could, his grip deliciously bruising and careless, and Vegeta could feel himself unraveling from the inside out with each new pounding thrust. 

Then, just as he was about to let go, there was a hand on his cock stroking him furiously and a deep voice in his ear telling him, “Now, Vegeta, come for me  _ now _ . Come on, do it for me, baby, now -“

Vegeta came with an almost deafening roar, the climax so intense and beyond his control that his come covered not only his torso but even some of his face and cheek. Kakarot watched in awe and then was gone right with him, the two men shuddering and writing together in their private little paradise, both flying high but only one of them tumbling headfirst into that strange subspace that Vegata had been so determined to never fall into again. But there was no stopping it, and now that he was aware of what it was it was all too easy to sink into it and happily float in its heavy, warm waves. 

As Vegeta laid limp, sated and pleasantly checked out of reality, Kakarot held him close and allowed his own breathing to slow down before taking action. He very gently eased out of Vegeta and then laid him down on the furs, smiling as he looked him over and knowing that he’d achieved his goal of plunging him back into subspace. Bulma has shared her research with him, too, and Goku had found himself rather fascinated with the concept. It seemed like something that could only help Vegeta, that might be a nice balm to his always-frayed nerves and never-resting mind. And the idea of being the only one able to take him there, to know how to manipulate his mind and body into such a blissful state - the thought alone was utterly intoxicating. 

Goku set about cleaning Vegeta up gently, the older man barely even giving a twitch as Goku ran a warm cloth over his body. When he reached Vegeta’s face, Goku paused and decided to clean up the mess there with his tongue. It still didn’t rouse Vegeta and that was just fine with Goku, as it gave him enough time to grab a bottle of water and a small stack of chocolate bars from the minifridge. 

Once he was done, Goku returned to Vegeta’s side and pulled one of the many furs up and over them before cradling Vegeta to his chest and holding him close. He remembered how Vegeta had shivered last time, and he wanted him to wake up safe and warm this time. He wanted Vegeta to trust him to see him through this, to know that he would always be safe and cared for in Goku’s arms. 

Still, when Vegeta finally did come back around and blink his eyes open, his sluggish brain realizing what had just happened, he still groaned a frustrated, “Shit.”

“Shh,” Kakarot hushed him gently, and Vegeta felt him shifting around briefly before something cool pressed to his lips. “Here, drink this.” Vegeta obeyed, too exhausted to protest drinking from Kakarot’s hand. Once half the bottle was gone, Kakarot pulled it away and replaced it with something else, something small and solid and - “Here, this is just chocolate.”

“... Why the hell are you trying to feed me chocolate?”

“Just… it’s supposed to help, maybe,” Kakarot shrugged. “Just eat it, it’s your favorite.”

Vegeta snorted quietly in derision but ate the damn chocolate anyway, and  _ ugh _ it really was his favorite sort. Dark chocolate, so dark that it was more bitter than sweet and not very palatable to most others. Before he knew it, Kakarot had fed him two full chocolate bars and somehow, Vegeta’s mind  _ did _ feel clearer and his body more centered. It was nothing like last time, when he’d come out of the then-unknown state to Kakarot panicking and confused. 

He didn’t get the chills this time either, and he figured he probably had Kakarot’s furnace-like body heat to thank for that. In fact, he felt so damn good and satisfied and absolutely exhausted that he didn’t even have it in him to protest when Kakarot kept cuddling him like that and dropping sweet, light kisses across his shoulder and neck. It felt… nice. 

_ Fuck _ . This was going too far. 

“How do you feel?” Kakarot asked softly, nuzzling his nose against the curse of Vegeta’s neck. 

“Fine.”

“Good. That was incredible, wasn’t it?”

Vegeta grunted, staring stonily at the fire flickering across the cavern. 

“I think it gets better and better every time,” Kakarot mused, letting out a deep breath that fanned across Vegeta’s ear. 

Vegeta wanted badly to open his mouth and snap at Kakarot to get it together and stop treating him like some sweet, delicate lover who needed to be fed and held all affectionately after sex. And for that matter, he didn’t need Kakarot to hunt and cook him food and he also didn’t need him to set up this fucking…  _ sex lair _ for them and stock it with his favorite chocolate bars. 

This was supposed to just be sex, and they were only having it because they couldn’t have it this rough and hard with anyone else. That was all it was supposed to be, but Kakarot was clearly getting the lines blurred and Vegeta knew it would only cause trouble in the end. His brain screamed at him to speak up and tell Kakarot to get the fuck off of him and tell him that the cave was too much, the gesture unnecessary and unwanted just like the fish, but he found that he couldn’t bring himself to utter the words. Because it would hurt Kakarot’s feelings after he’d gone to such lengths to set something special up for Vegeta. 

And the fact that Vegeta suddenly cared enough about Kakarot’s feelings to spare them was enough to shake him to his core. 

Eventually Kakarot fell asleep snuggled up to Vegeta’s back, snoring lightly as Vegeta laid wide-awake staring into nothing. He didn’t sleep at all that night, his mind racing and wrestling with itself, though he suspected he knew deep down what the only solution could be. 

This needed to be nipped in the bud, before it could grow into something worse. Vegeta could see it now - Kakarot’s feelings becoming messier as time went on, eventually causing their wives to become concerned and inevitably jealous, and Vegeta didn’t even want to think about what would happen from that point on. It wouldn’t be anything good or even remotely acceptable, that was for sure. 

So that left him with only one option. He had to end it, before it could turn into more trouble than it was worth. It was the only option, really. And he’d never hesitated to make tough decisions in the past, so why should this be any different? 

Kakarot’s arms tightened around Vegeta and he let out a sound of pure contentment in his sleep. Vegeta winced and wished he’d never gotten himself into this mess to begin with. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vegeta confides in Bulma, another birthday party is thrown, two other Z fighters have a secret of their own, and Goku has a special request for Vegeta.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaand we’re back with another chapter sooner than planned, thanks to the lovely quarantine we’re all dealing with lol. Haven’t had much to do besides write so here we are! Thank you guys so much for your feedback and for following along with this story, every email alert for a new comment is like opening a Christmas present and I couldn’t be more grateful :D 
> 
> One thing I wanna note real quick is that when I started this fic I was a little fuzzy on the timeline I was choosing to write it in, and I was only vaguely familiar with Super so I thought Trunks and Goten were still, like, 9ish BECAUSE THEY LOOK 9 and now I’ve come to find out I’ve mangled the kids’ ages pretty badly 😂 Bulla is like 3 here and Trunks and Goten are still around 10 which I now know is way off from their canon ages but, I mean, I’m also ignoring all the plot stuff from Super so let’s just... ignore all that and pretend it works, okay? LOL. Let’s blame Super for making Trunks and Goten permanent babies when they should be awkward pubescent teenagers lol
> 
> With all of THAT out of the way, hope you guys enjoy!! I hope everyone stays safe and healthy and is hanging in there :)

Bulma sighed, gently running her fingers over Vegeta’s forearm comfortingly. “I really don’t think any of this is such a bad thing, honey.”

Vegeta scowled, sitting back on their couch in the spacious living room with Bulla nestled in his arms, snoozing away. It was late and the girl’s favorite place to curl up and doze off was her father’s arms, ever since she was only a baby. “Of course you wouldn’t,” Vegeta sneered, staring angrily at the wall. “Foolish woman.”

Bulma lifted an eyebrow, unimpressed. “That’s rich, coming from the prince of all self-saboteurs.”

He side-eyed her, equally unimpressed. “This is all your fault, you know.”

“What? How is your emotional constipation my fault?” she demanded, and Vegeta couldn’t help but wrinkle his nose at her word choice. 

“If you hadn't poisoned my mind in the first place with your vulgar nonsense, things with Kakarot would be the same as they always were.”

Her lids closed halfway as she remarked, “What, the two of you constantly thinking and talking about each other and ‘sparring’ aka rolling around on the ground fighting and sweating and growling and pretending you’re not hilariously gay for each other?”

Vegeta glared at her, blushing furiously. “I am  _ not _ -“

“How are you still in denial, after all this time?” Bulma asked, incredulous. “I thought you said Saiyans didn’t have the same sexuality hangups that we do on earth.”

“We didn’t,” he huffed. “Sex is sex and gender is meaningless. Strength is all that mattered and what we deemed attractive above all other attributes.”

“So you’ve probably wanted a piece of Goku since you first laid eyes on him, huh,” Bulma grinned, and Vegeta stiffened and turned roughly the shade of a strawberry. She giggled and rubbed his arm. “For what it’s worth, I don’t blame you. The only reason I’ve never tried getting in his pants is because he’s like the kid brother I never had, and because he’s never once looked at me like that.”

Vegeta sighed. “This entire talk is pointless. Whatever myself and Kakarot have begun, it must end. That’s all there is to it.”

“But why?” she pressed. “Is it that hard to let yourself be happy?”

Vegeta gritted his teeth. “He’s taking things too far. I don’t need him to bring me food or whisk me away to some… blasted sex cave,” his blush deepened even further. “I’m not his woman, I don’t require such foolishness.”

“Well, sure, you might not  _ require _ it,” she shrugged, “but it’s nice, isn’t it? He cares about you and wants to help take care of you. What’s the downside?” As Vegeta struggled to come up with an answer, Bulma wondered aloud, “Is it because even after all this time you still feel like you don’t deserve to be treated well and have nice things, to be happy?”

Vegeta exhaled through his nose, the wind leaving his sails as his eyes suddenly grew very tired looking. Bulla giggled in her sleep and squirmed against his chest, Vegeta’s hand rubbing up and down her back absently as he seemed to lose himself in thought. 

Her heart aching a little for the love of her life, Bulma wished that she could find some magic words to say that would make Vegeta feel better and lift the burden of old, brutal guilt from his shoulders. He carried so much through life, his own sins and the evils he’d inflicted as well as the ones he’d endured and been tormented under, and even giving his life to save the world and being deemed  _ good _ by the universe in the end wasn’t enough to ease his own self-hatred. It had surely helped, but she didn’t think he would ever be completely free of those demons. 

And Kami knew it had taken  _ her _ long enough to get past his walls and find her way to his heart. It wasn’t gonna be easy for Goku either, clearly. 

“Listen,” she began gently, “maybe just… talk to him first, instead of doing anything rash. I mean, this  _ is _ Goku we’re talking about. I can guarantee he doesn’t have the faintest clue that he’s freaking you out - he’s just trying to do nice things for you the only ways he knows how.”

“He is an idiot,” Vegeta grumbled, and Bulma chuckled. 

“Yeah,” she agreed warmly, “but that’s why we love him, isn’t it?”

Vegeta didn’t say a word. Instead he leaned his head back against the couch and closed his eyes, and Bulma laid her head on his shoulder and closed hers as well. 

Meanwhile, not terribly far away at the foot of the nearby staircase, Trunks whispered to Goten, “See? Believe me now?”

“Wow,” Goten whispered back with wide eyes. “Something weird  _ is _ going on with our dads.” Then his expression grew suddenly worried. “You don’t think that… my mom and dad might… might -“

“Nah,” Trunks shrugged, sitting down on the step next to his best friend. “I talked to my mom and she said grownups just… do this sometimes. Nobody’s getting divorced.”

Goten deflated with visible relief. “Good. I don’t think my mom would be okay if Dad left again.”

Trunks glanced at Goten’s suddenly heavy expression, far too heavy for boys their age. He lightly punched Goten’s shoulder and grinned, “Hey, cheer up, ‘Ten. Your dad’s not going anywhere and neither is mine. They’re just doing gross grownup stuff.”

Goten smiled at Trunks’ reassurances, then wrinkled his nose. “What is it with grownups and kissing and stuff? I don’t get it.”

Trunks crossed his arms and huffed, fully agreeing. “I know. Why bother with that stuff when you could be fighting or eating instead?”

“Or playing video games,” Goten added. “Hey, can we go play more now?”

Trunks grimaced. “Goten, no offense, but you suck at video games. Playing with you isn’t very fun.”

“That’s only because my mom won’t let me have any at home! I only get to play them when I’m over here!”

“Hey, that’s not my probl-“

“And what are you two brats doing still awake?”

Trunks and Goten both squealed and jumped to their feet, looking up to find Vegeta looming over them and cradling the still-sleeping Bulla in his arms. 

“Off to bed, now,” he hissed. “And remember, I expect you both awake and ready to train by 7.”

“Yes, Dad.”

“Yes, Mr. Vegeta!”

As the children scampered off Bulma chuckled and joined her husband’s side. “You know they were spying on us the whole time, right?”

Vegeta grimaced and started up the stairs. “Yes, Trunks likes to stick his nose everywhere it doesn’t belong. He takes after his mother that way.”

“Hey!”

“Hush, woman, you’ll wake the other brat.”

—

The next week was relatively uneventful. Kakarot’s family kept him busy and Vegeta and Bulma enlisted Piccolo’s (incredibly reluctant) babysitting services for a night out to themselves - which mostly meant locking themselves in a luxury hotel room and feasting on room service between rounds of wall-shaking sex. Vegeta’s Kakarot issues had no effect on his marriage, he was relieved to confirm, and they returned home the next day refreshed and relaxed and ready to get back to the usual daily grind. 

Then Bulma informed Vegeta that she was throwing yet another birthday party that weekend, and his untouchably good mood flew out the window. 

Apparently it was the strange clown creature’s birthday, and Vegeta was shocked to discover that the odd being was  _ in his 40s _ . Vegeta had thought of him as a weird eternal child… thing the whole time, and for all he knew maybe it was, but regardless, Bulma insisted on throwing it a birthday party at their house (“And stop calling him an ‘it’, you jerk!” Bulma had screeched more than once, to Vegeta’s chagrin). 

And so when Saturday rolled around, Vegeta sighed and threw on khakis and a dark blue button down shirt, resigning himself to a night of misery. Bulma had too many damn friends that she felt weirdly obligated to throw parties for, but there was no talking her out of it. With any luck he could  _ mingle _ \- the mere word made him shudder - just long enough to pacify her and then disappear into the gravity room for the rest of the night. 

But of course, the godforsaken universe had other ideas as always. 

—

Vegeta ducked down to avoid being hit in the face by the squealing toddler currently zipping through the air at breakneck speed, her father Gohan yelling and chasing after her as Vegeta sighed and poured himself a stiff drink. He stepped back as he took his first sip, avoiding a collision with Bulla as she flew by to join in on the fun, and Vegeta wondered why Bulma ever invited the children to these blasted parties when all they ever did was - 

“Hey, ‘Geta.”

Vegeta choked on his drink, splashing it all over his shirt as he whipped around and angrily spat, “Kakarot I will kill you if you don’t stop doing th-“

Then his words died on his tongue and his eyes widened and jaw dropped as he stared at Kakarot and the outfit he was wearing. His eyes roved up and down dumbly several times before he stuttered, “I - what are you - what kind of -  _ fuck _ .”

Kakarot smiled and rubbed at the back of his neck and blushed, “I look pretty silly, huh? Me and Chi-Chi went shopping with Krillin & 18 a few days ago, and 18 convinced us to let her pick out some clothes for me.”

Vegeta could feel his face burning as he continued to stare like a moron. Kakarot was dressed like something out of one of the stupid movies Bulma loved to watch, clad in a skin-tight rusty orange tank top with a sleek black leather jacket on top of it, and his legs were encased in the tightest, lowest slung black jeans that Vegeta had ever seen on a man. Similarly black leather boots finished off the look and by the time that Vegeta managed to meet Kakarot’s eyes again, he was uncomfortably hard in his own pants. 

The worst part of it all was, despite Kakarot’s self conscious words, he was grinning at Vegeta like he damn well knew what he was doing. 

“Oh, Goku, you made it!” Bulma chirped, flitting over to the two men before stopping in her tracks and staring at Goku much like her husband was. “Ho-ly crap, fuck me!”

Kakarot giggled nervously, and Bulma looked from him to Vegeta and had to stifle a laugh at his red face and absolutely dumbfounded expression. She’d gotten that same look out of him quite a few times during their relationship, and she couldn’t help but gently pat his shoulder and say, “Um, anyway… thanks for coming, Goku, and hey - don’t get into too much trouble, okay boys?” 

Goku watched as she winked and slipped away, and he chuckled, “We’ll do our best!”

After she walked away, Vegeta was still in a trance so Kakarot stepped forward and gently crowded him in against the bar, a playful grin on his face as he leaned in and brushed a kiss under Vegeta’s ear. “I’m starting to think you might like what you see.”

Finally Vegeta snapped out of it and shoved Kakarot away, hissing, “What the hell are you doing, idiot?! There’s  _ people _ around!”

“Sorry,” Kakarot blushed. “I just -“

“Shut up,” Vegeta growled, grabbing Kakarot by his wrist and leaving his drink on the bar as he dragged the other man off. All of his anxieties over their relationship momentarily forgotten under the haze of sudden, unstoppable lust, he steered them away from the party and down a hallway filled with guest bedrooms. Knowing all of them to be currently empty, he opened the first door on the right and began to walk inside only to stop suddenly and receive his second shock of the night. 

There, right before his eyes and in his guest bedroom, was none other than Yamcha and Tien, the former pressed to the wall by the latter, both men shirtless and breaking apart from what had been a furious kiss before they’d been interrupted. And Tien’s hand was down Yamcha’s pants. 

Vegeta and Goku both stared dumbly until Yamcha broke the awkward silence. 

“This isn’t what it looks like!” he blurted out, and Tien - hand still in his pants - turned to stare at him incredulously. 

“This is exactly what it looks like,” Tien pointed out evenly. “How could it be anything else?”

“I know,” Yamcha winced. “I don’t know why I said that, it just came out.”

Vegeta made a face and hissed, “If you’re going to defile each other in my house, have the decency to lock the damn door - I have children!” Then, after both men muttered sheepish apologies, Vegeta began to close the door only to be stopped by Kakarot. 

“Does this mean you guys are together?” he chirped happily. “That’s awesome! I had no idea you guys were g-“

“Shut up, Kakarot!” Vegeta growled, physically yanking Kakarot away. 

“I’m bi, he’s gay!” Yamcha replied as the door swung shut, and the last thing Vegeta saw was Tien rolling his eyes and groaning. For the first time ever Vegeta felt as if he could relate a bit to the three-eyed man, knowing the very real and irritating pain of dealing with a beautiful but incredibly stupid jackass of a man. 

Changing course and deciding to go outside instead, Vegeta resumed dragging Kakarot down the hallway and rolled his eyes as Kakarot began blabbering. 

“Wow, Tien and Yamcha!” he chuckled. “I didn’t see that coming, but I guess it makes sense.”

“Yes,” Vegeta snorted, “seeing as they’re both weaklings, they’re perfect for each other.”

As Vegeta opened another door and brought them out into the warm twilight air, Kakarot chuckled, “Hey, that’s not very nice.”

Turning and seizing Kakarot by the lapels of his jacket, Vegeta growled, “ _ I’m _ not nice,” and then he shoved himself back against the side of the house so that Kakarot was pinning him there, and then they were kissing like mad. 

Kakarot groaned deliciously against Vegeta’s mouth, their hands all over each other and bodies pressed together as closely as possible as their kiss went from passionate to utterly brutal. Vegeta slid his hands up under Kakarot’s jacket and ran them up his back and then down to his ass, squeezing the perfect muscles there through those insanely tight jeans, and Kakarot moaned and rocked against him in response. 

“Mm, Vegeta,” Kakarot murmured, a strong thigh sliding between both of Vegeta’s and providing some badly needed friction for them both. “Hey, wait a second.”

Vegeta growled in annoyance, plunging his tongue deep into Kakarot’s mouth in protest, and Kakarot let him have his way for a moment before pulling away with a smile. 

“‘Geta -“

“ _ What _ ?” Vegeta finally relented, though he busied himself with kissing down Kakarot’s throat as he waited for him to spill what was so evidently important. 

“I’ve been thinking, and - ah,” Kakarot hissed with pleasure when Vegeta bit down on a spot he knew to be sensitive. “I want - I wanna try -  _ oh _ -“

“Try what?” Vegeta murmured against his skin, sucking a dark bruise where everyone would be able to see. 

“I wanna - I wanna know what it feels like,” Kakarot whispered, eyes closed and head tilted to the side as he enjoyed Vegeta’s mouth. “I want you to - to -“

“To  _ what _ , Kakarot?”

“I want you to fuck me.”

Vegeta froze. Not only was he still not used to hearing such crude terms leave that usually-innocent mouth, but he thought that he  _ must _ have misheard him. He looked Kakarot dead in the eyes and replied lowly, “Say that again.”

Kakarot bit his lip briefly, then licked it and blushed as he repeated, “I want you to fuck me, Vegeta.”

Gaze darkening and lust slithering through his veins like a raging wildfire, Vegeta gritted his teeth and sunk his hands into Kakarot’s hair, gripping two handfuls roughly and growling, “I could fucking  _ kill _ you, Kakarot.”

He blinked at Vegeta in confusion, the two men so close their noses brushed with each breath they took. “What? Why?”

“You show up here, dressed like  _ this _ ,” Vegeta seethed, but his gaze and aura was all passion and no anger. “And then you kiss me in front of everyone we know, and as if all of that wasn’t enough, then you do  _ this _ .”

“I thought… you’d wanna fuck me,” Kakarot replied, obviously still confused. 

“Of course I want to fuck you,” Vegeta groaned, eyes rolling shut and pulling him in, “you stupid beautiful idiot.” Then they were kissing and Kakarot was smiling, and the kiss quickly devolved into sloppy, hungry licking and growling that didn’t stop until a pointed clearing of a throat made them both freeze. 

“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” Vegeta grumbled before looking up to find out who’d interrupted them. Once he did, he rolled his eyes and groaned. 

“Oh, hi Piccolo!” Kakarot said happily, as if this was completely normal and as if the Namekian wasn’t staring at them like they’d each sprouted three new heads. “Great party, huh?”

Piccolo stared at Goku and then at Vegeta, the former of whom was as casual as ever while the latter was staring up into the sky miserably with a painfully bright blush on his face. Piccolo remained quiet for a few seconds before taking a breath and saying, “You know, this actually explains a lot.”

Vegeta’s eyes snapped to the Namekian and narrowed. “What exactly is that supposed to mean?”

Piccolo stared right back at him, unfazed. “I presume the women are aware and I haven’t just stumbled upon a horrible secret that I now have to break to them?”

“Oh yeah,” Goku smiled. “It was all Bulma’s idea, actually! And Chi-Chi’s fine with it. She actually says sex has gotten better between us ever since me and Vegeta started -“

Vegeta, horrified, smothered Kakarot’s mouth with his palm as Piccolo turned a vivid shade of purple. 

“That’s… more information than I ever needed,” he sputtered, looking vaguely sick. “I -“ He opened and closed his mouth a few times, and Vegeta wondered if he’d ever seen Piccolo speechless before that incredibly embarrassing and cringe-worthy moment. 

“Sorry,” Kakarot muttered against Vegeta’s palm. 

Piccolo glanced at him uncomfortably and then gestured to the house. “I’ll just… be getting back to the party then.” 

Vegeta and Kakarot then watched as the Namekian all but ran away, fueled by the mutual humiliation of the unfortunate encounter, and Vegeta let go of Kakarot’s mouth with a groan. 

“Wow,” Kakarot chuckled as he rubbed the back of his head, “that was awkward.”

Vegeta sighed deeply. “Just get us out of here, Kakarot.”

He raised two fingers to his forehead instantly. “Our place?”

Vegeta paused, that term surprising him before he realized what Kakarot meant. He then flushed and nodded, and after he took Kakarot’s offered hand, they blinked out of existence and reappeared in what Vegeta’s brain now exclusively referred to as the sex cave. 

The second they materialized in the cavern, Kakarot told him to wait and hurriedly set about starting a fire to light the place up. The temperature was far cooler here than back at CC but Vegeta didn’t mind, arms crossed out of habit as he watched Kakarot pile up some pre-chopped firewood and set it alight with a quick burst of ki from his hand. 

Once that was done, Kakarot straightened up and smiled back at Vegeta, who was still standing where they’d first appeared. “Want a drink or anything?” When Vegeta shook his head, Kakarot nodded and began to walk his way, shedding his leather jacket as he went, and Vegeta couldn’t help but appreciate the figure he cut in just the dark orange tank and absolutely ridiculous jeans. It made him feel positively underwhelming in his own far less exciting clothes. 

“Sorry about all that back there,” Kakarot murmured once they were close again, Vegeta’s arms uncrossing as Kakarot reached for him. “I know I need to learn when to shut up.”

“Yes, you do,” Vegeta agreed wholeheartedly before closing his eyes and allowing Kakarot to kiss him. It was a gentle kiss, the exact opposite of the crazed ones they’d been exchanging before Piccolo’s interruption, and Vegeta was about to protest and demand more when Kakarot spoke first. 

“Did you mean what you said, before?” he asked quietly, and Vegeta blinked at him. 

“What are you talking about?”

“You called me a stupid beautiful idiot,” Kakarot grinned. “Did you mean that?”

Vegeta blushed, knowing damn well which part of that statement Kakarot really wanted confirmed, but he still had to pretend otherwise. “Yes, of course - you’re an absolute imbecile, I’ve always been very clear about that.”

Kakarot chuckled. “C’mon, Vegeta. You know what I mean.” When Vegeta only flushed harder and began to avoid his gaze, Kakarot added, “It’s just you’ve never said anything like that to me before.”

Trying not to sputter too much, Vegeta huffed and replied, “Do you think I’d be having sex with you if I didn’t find you attractive?”

Kakarot shrugged. “Maybe? I’m the only Saiyan you have left, so it’s not like you have a lot of options for people you can cut loose with.”

Vegeta stared at Kakarot in disbelief, hardly able to comprehend what he was hearing. Had he really never said anything that implied how attractive he found Kakarot? Kakarot had complimented him incessantly from their first sexual encounter on - Vegeta remembered each compliment word for word and when they’d each happened - but now that Vegeta thought about it… 

_ Fuck _ . 

“It’s okay,” Kakarot quickly assured him, smiling easily. “I’m not complaining or anything. I just… wanted to know if you meant what you said before.”

Vegeta took a breath, cheeks flushing deeper as he wondered why the hell this was so difficult for him. Sometimes even paying Bulma the compliments she lived for was difficult, and she was his  _ wife _ . But this was Kakarot, his former archenemy and rival and target of all of his rage and envy, and now he was supposed to tell  _ him _ how sexy he was, how much just the sight of his stupid face and perfect body made Vegeta ache with need? 

But even worse, somehow, was the idea that all this time Kakarot had apparently wondered if Vegeta was letting him fuck him because he truly wanted him to or if it was simply because Kakarot was his only Saiyan option. 

And so, Vegeta steeled himself and looked Kakarot in the eye, nodding once. “Yes, I meant what I said, Kakarot. And I would not even think about touching  _ anyone _ I didn’t find exceptionally attractive.”

Kakarot smiled, his brows quirking up. “Exceptionally attractive, huh?”

Vegeta rolled his eyes. “Surely you own a mirror at home and are aware of your appearance, Kakarot.”

Kakarot simply shrugged. “Yeah, I mean… I’m proud of my body and all. But I can’t do much about my face, it’s kinda stuck there.”

“There is nothing wrong with your face,” Vegeta replied somewhat incredulously. “Besides the fact that it belongs to a clown.”

Kakarot laughed, the sound airy and light as it bounced off the cavern’s walls, and Vegeta sagged with relief when their lips met and at last ended the talk. He resolved to compliment Kakarot more often in the future, preferably in the heat of the moment when doing so would be easier, and it was then that he realized how hilariously far he’d diverged from his original plan to end this blasted affair as soon as possible. Now he was here, back in the damn sex cave, and Kakarot’s tongue was in his mouth and Vegeta was vowing to call him pretty more often in the future. 

What the  _ fuck _ was he doing?

“Thank you, Vegeta,” Kakarot murmured against his lips, hands reaching up to start unbuttoning Vegeta’s shirt. “You really are amazing, you know that?”

“Shut up and keep kissing me,” Vegeta growled, desperate for less talk and more action. Kakarot understood and was happy to deliver, divesting Vegeta of his shirt and then letting him take the lead as Vegeta began walking Kakarot back towards the familiar pile of furs that made up their little makeshift bed. 

He knew that he still needed to end this, but as Vegeta yanked Kakarot’s clothes from his body and allowed the other man to do the same to him, he figured he might as well enjoy fucking him first. After all, it was about time the tables turned and he finally got Kakarot writhing beneath him, taking everything Vegeta had to give. 

The funny thing, he realized with slight horror as a shirtless Kakarot dropped to his denim-clad knees and started sucking him off like a starving man, was that he didn’t really feel the bone-deep urge to dominate Kakarot that he had at the beginning of all of this. It was more than a little distressing, and as he closed his eyes and enjoyed the feeling of that hot mouth swallowing him whole, he wondered when that desire had begun to fade. He certainly wanted to fuck him, but he wanted to do it for the thrill and the pleasure of it, not for the power play he’d associated it with before. 

He opened his eyes and stared up at the cave’s jagged ceiling, wondering what the  _ hell _ Kakarot had done to him. 

Pushing those thoughts down as far as he could manage, Vegeta growled and yanked Kakarot back up to his feet. He kissed him hard and deep as his hands moved down to his jeans, working them open and hurriedly shoving them down his thighs - or at least trying to, as the damn things were basically  _ painted on _ . Kakarot giggled and reached down to help, kicking off his boots first and then with some difficulty finally getting the jeans off, and Vegeta was somehow not surprised to find him bare beneath them. He was also blushing up a storm as Vegeta pushed him down to the furs on his back, and Vegeta wasn’t sure why. 

“On your hands and knees,” Vegeta demanded, but Kakarot hesitated. 

“Okay, but - I, um -“

Vegeta watched in slight fascination as Kakarot’s blush ran all the way down to his abs, then looked up to narrow his eyes at the fumbling man. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing! Nothing, I just - “

Vegeta sighed. “If you don’t want to do this then just say so, Kakarot.”

“No, I do!” Kakarot exclaimed, eyes wide and eager. “I just… it’s kind of…” Finally he seemed to steel himself, taking a breath and closing his eyes. “Okay. I’ll just show you.”

He then flipped over to his hands and knees, just as Vegeta had instructed him to, and Vegeta stared at him in confusion until a silvery shine in a  _ very _ intimate place caught his eye and realization dawned on him. 

He sat back on his knees, eyes widening and hands gently settling on Kakarot’s ass to get a better look. “You… Kakarot, you -“

Face aflame, Kakarot turned his head back and grinned shyly. “I wanted to be ready for you.”

Vegeta gulped, the cave suddenly feeling entirely too hot to bear. “You,” he cleared his throat, his voice suddenly barely there, “you really did plan this, didn’t you Kakarot?”

“Been thinking about it for awhile,” Kakarot admitted. 

Vegeta hummed, running two fingertips over the unassuming plug before pushing it in and earning a satisfying little yelp from his lover. “Who put this inside you, Kakarot? Did you ask your woman, or…”

“Did it myself,” Kakarot replied, breathing harder now. “Been playing around too, imagining it was you doing it instead of me.”

Vegeta closed his eyes and barely suppressed a moan. His mind immediately conjured up an image of Kakarot in the shower, two fingers deep within himself and moaning softly as he pretended it was Vegeta doing it instead, maybe pressed behind him and scattering kisses across his shoulders as he got him ready for something bigger and better… 

_ I should get him in the shower one of these days... _

“Vegeta, please…”

Vegeta then snapped out of his brief revelry, his focus returning on the warrior presented so decadently before him. His mouth watering with a primal sort of hunger, Vegeta’s gaze darkened and began toying with the plug again, drawing sweet little mewls out of the other man. He teased him like that until he ran out of patience and pulled it free, brows quirking at the size of the plug - hardly that of a beginner, but Kakarot was known for diving in headfirst and enjoying biting off more than he could chew. 

Setting the plug aside and picking up a bottle of lube instead, Vegeta smirked to himself and poured a generous amount directly on to Kakarot. Then he wasted no time in pressing two fingers in, all the way to the knuckle, and the way that Kakarot tensed and cried out was nothing short of exquisite. 

“Tell me, Kakarot,” Vegeta murmured silkily as his free hand grabbed a fistful of Kakarot’s hair and yanked him up, pulling him close and pressing his lips to Kakarot’s ear all while his fingers worked him slowly but deeply. “Would you have believed it, all those years ago when we first met, that one day you would end up like this, with me, begging me to fuck you?”

Kakarot laughed softly, the sound turning into a moan as he replied, “Vegeta, you’ve always amazed me. We could have been like this from the very start, I never would have said no to you.”

Vegeta nearly faltered, his brain misfiring upon hearing those unexpected words. “ _ Kakarot… _ ”

He turned his head and captured Vegeta’s lips in a sweetly passionate kiss, his lips curved into a smile as he whispered, “I don’t think I  _ can _ say no you.”

Vegeta let out a shuddering breath, Kakarot’s words dangerously close to setting off another internal panic spiral that Vegeta just wasn’t willing to deal with at that moment. So he did the only thing he knew to do, which was growling and pulling his fingers free before shoving Kakarot down to his back, then pushing his legs further open and climbing between them. He’d had enough of words, of troublesome sentiment, and now was the time for action. And Kakarot hardly seemed to mind, reaching out for Vegeta and pulling him down for a heated kiss as their bodies slid together. 

Kakarot was as shameless as ever, writhing underneath Vegeta and urging him closer with his hands all over him, and Vegeta took a moment to enjoy how it felt to have the younger man at his mercy like that. Kakarot was nervous, he could easily tell, but he was even more excited and his arousal was through the roof. He couldn’t  _ wait _ to get fucked, and Vegeta smirked to himself as he bit down hard on Kakarot’s neck, hard enough to leave a mark, silently reveling in the absolutely intoxicating moment. 

“Geta,” Kakarot whined after Vegeta had made an absolute mess of his neck, one leg slung over the smaller man’s hips and his hands roaming all over him, “c’mon…”

“Beg for it, Kakarot,” Vegeta groaned, lips trailing down his chest, tongue hungrily licking at a nipple and wringing another whine out of Kakarot. 

“ _ Ah _ ,” he gasped, fisting a hand in Vegeta’s hair, “ _ fuck _ , please…”

“Please what,” Vegeta teased, nipping at the swell of his pec and squeezing the other with his hand. 

“Please, Vegeta,” Kakarot moaned, his voice breathy and wrecked already, “fuck me, give me your cock,  _ please _ -“

And that was when Vegeta broke, suddenly unable to get inside him fast enough. It was a slightly clumsy shifting of limbs and all heavy breaths and sheer desperation on both of their parts but it didn’t matter because soon enough they were lined up just right and Vegeta was sinking inside of his rival, drunk on the knowledge that while Chi-Chi had taken Kakarot’s other firsts, this one would forever be his and his alone. 

He took his time, remembering his own first time with Bulma and her…  _ device _ , and how overwhelming it had been. He watched Kakarot carefully as he slowly buried himself to the hilt, the warmth and tightness sending his own senses on overdrive as he forced himself to move slow and gentle and do this right. 

Stilling to let him adjust, Vegeta panted and watched Kakarot as sweat rolled down his temples, breathing harshly through his mouth and gripping Vegeta’s biceps in a death grip. “Relax,” Vegeta murmured, leaning down to kiss him softly and distract him. “The sooner your body accepts it the sooner it’ll feel good. Breathe.”

Kakarot whined softly but nodded faintly, taking in a deep breath through his nose and letting it out through his lips, and Vegeta watched in slight amazement as the tension drained from Kakarot’s entire body. His self-control and discipline was a thing of beauty, something that Vegeta had long envied him for, but now all he could do was admire him. 

“Okay,” Kakarot whispered, opening his eyes and smiling softly. “I’m ready.”

Their gazes locked, Vegeta began a languid, careful rhythm, doing his very best to ease Kakarot into the new sensations. All the while Kakarot maintained his concentration, keeping himself open and relaxed as much as possible, and happily accepting every kiss that Vegeta gave him as that initial strangeness faded away and was gradually replaced by something much  _ much _ better. Vegeta could  _ feel _ when it happened, Kakarot’s body starting to respond and move with him, and he followed those cues and started to go deeper at last. 

“ _ Kami _ ,” Kakarot breathed, biting his lip and letting his head roll back, and Vegeta couldn’t help but lean forward and sink his teeth into the curve of his neck. Kakarot moaned and rolled his hips up to meet every new thrust, holding Vegeta close with a hand on the back of his neck, and they stayed like that until it wasn’t enough any longer for either of them. 

Vegeta was so wrapped up and his guard down so low that it took nothing at all for Kakarot to suddenly seize control and flip them over, grinning down at Vegeta as he straddled his hips and seized his cock to hold it still as he sunk back down on it. Vegeta could only stare and let out a punched-out kind of noise, initially wanting to protest but finding himself frozen at the sight of Kakarot flushed down to his belly, smirking and taking his cock like he’d been born to do it. 

“Wow,” Kakarot moaned as he started riding him, carefully at first and then letting instinct take over as he took him deeper. “You feel amazing, Vegeta.”

Vegeta gazed at him in awe, wishing for roughly the hundredth time that they still had their tails so they could wind together and tangle the way that his instincts would always crave, but instead he had to settle for gripping Kakarot’s hips and fucking up into him at an increasingly bruising pace. Kakarot’s hands were on Vegeta’s chest, balancing him as he experimented with different angles and looking like a fucking wet dream come to life as he did, all rolling muscles and sweat-slick skin and tantalizing moans, discovering new heights of pleasure he hadn’t experienced before. 

Then Kakarot leaned back, palms landing on Vegeta’s thighs as he found another new angle and promptly gasped and shuddered all over. He froze suddenly, hand flying to the base of his cock to keep him from coming too soon, and that was when Vegeta sat up and crushed their lips together. He couldn’t take it anymore, needing to be closer and  _ needing _ to feel him everywhere that he could. 

Kakarot kissed him back with wild abandon, eventually letting go of himself to wind his arms around Vegeta and hold him close as he panted, “This is incredible, Vegeta.”

Vegeta smirked against his mouth, hands sliding down to grip at his ass as he murmured in reply, “You’re so  _ tight _ , Kakarot.”

Kakarot moaned and kissed him harder, both men starting to move again. “M’not gonna last much longer, s’too good.”

“I don’t care,” Vegeta hissed, catching Kakarot’s lower lip between his teeth. “Just fucking  _ move _ .”

“Yes, sir,” Kakarot shot back playfully, grinning as he held on to Vegeta’s shoulders and started  _ bouncing _ . 

One hand braced on the ground behind him and the other wrapped tightly around Kakarot’s hip, Vegeta allowed himself to let Kakarot take over fully and drive them both to their peaks. The air was thick with their mingled scents and the heat of their bodies, and every little grunt and moan that left Kakarot’s mouth was like a bolt of lightning to the base of Vegeta’s spine. He looked so fucking good like that, so carefree and perfect and  _ gorgeous _ , and Vegeta wasn’t even annoyed when he felt Kakarot tensing up around him, ready to come before Vegeta was. 

But Kakarot had other plans, gritting his teeth and holding off just long enough to lean forward and slip his hand to the small of Vegeta’s back. Two fingers pressed into his tail scar and that was it, Vegeta all but  _ screamed _ and they were coming together in a blinding flash of pleasure. 

He wanted to hate how well Kakarot had learned his body and how to manipulate it to do exactly what he wanted it to do,  _ when _ he wanted it to do it, but Vegeta just… couldn’t. None of that mattered in those sweet hazy moments after, as Kakarot laid on top of him and breathed heavily into his neck, their bodies still joined and spirits sated. 

When Kakarot finally moved off of him he didn’t go far, lying on his back next to Vegeta with a deep breath and a quiet little giggle. “ _ Wow _ . That was… I’ve never felt  _ anything _ like that.”

Eyes closed, Vegeta smirked and enjoyed the rush of pride sparked by those words. “Mm.”

Kakarot’s hand drifted down to Vegeta’s thigh, resting on it lightly as he took a deep breath and let it out. “We’re gonna have to do that more often. No wonder you like getting fucked so much.”

Cheeks flushing against his will, Vegeta decided to not pretend to be offended by those words and instead replied, “It’s how male bodies are built.”

Thumb now brushing absentmindedly against Vegeta’s thigh, Kakarot hummed, “I had no idea.”

“Good thing you have me around to teach you these things.”

Kakarot opened his eyes and grinned as Vegeta turned his head to do the same. “Yeah. Where would I be without you?”

Vegeta would have made some sarcastic remark back had Kakarot not spoken those words so softly and sincerely. Vegeta remained uselessly silent as Kakarot turned to lay facing him, lifting his hand to cup the side of Vegeta’s face, and the sweet way that he gazed upon Vegeta as he touched his cheek made his heart start pounding and triggered that pushed-down inner panic to start rising again. Vegeta stared back until he couldn’t stand it anymore, turning away and gently pushing Kakarot’s hand away as he opted to glare at the ceiling instead. 

“Hey,” Kakarot murmured gently, kissing the top of Vegeta’s shoulder. “Look at me.” Vegeta swallowed and forced himself to obey, turning his head and letting his eyes fall shut as Kakarot pressed a  _ painfully _ gentle kiss to his lips. The kiss lingered and turned into more, each brush of their lips unbearably soft and full of every emotion that Vegeta had been trying so desperately hard to ignore, and when Kakarot pulled away and gazed down at him with naked  _ adoration _ in his dark eyes, Vegeta knew they’d gone too far. 

He supposed that this was his punishment for not ending things when he should have and being a coward instead, his happy post-sex serenity long gone as Kakarot snuggled up to him and laid his head on his chest. Vegeta wrapped an arm around him, playing mindlessly with Kakarot’s hair as he stared distantly at the cave’s ceiling, knowing that now when he would inevitably end this idiotic relationship for their own good, he’d also be breaking Kakarot’s heart. 

And he planned to take to the grave how absolutely  _ unthinkably _ devastated he was at the mere thought of it. 

  
  
  



	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A blissful morning alone together turns into a nightmare, and Vegeta does what he does best: he destroys.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize in advance for this chapter 😬 if it’s any consolation, I can assure you guys that this stage of the story will not be dragged out and that I think I’ve only got two more chapters left to go anyway, so hang in there with me! It’ll all be worth it in the end, I promise :) my everlasting thanks to you guys for reading and sticking with this fic, and to sam-needs-a-better-url on tumblr for helping get me unstuck in this chapter when I hit a wall :D I hope you guys... uh... enjoy? 🥴

“Can I ask you a personal question?”

Kakarot, sprawled out sideways on Vegeta’s bed with his head on Vegeta’s stomach, chuckled as he replied, “I mean, you just had your cock in my ass like ten minutes ago - I think we’re past personal questions, don’t you?”

Reddening slightly at Kakarot’s choice of words, Vegeta sputtered, “Well, I - when did you become so vulgar, Kakarot?”

“Around the time you started seducing me,” Kakarot grinned up at Vegeta, who promptly grew even redder. 

“I never  _ seduced _ \- ugh, you imbecile!” Vegeta groaned, smacking Kakarot’s head and pushing him off of him. Kakarot chuckled and shifted to lay next to Vegeta, the bed rather destroyed from the several rounds of sex they’d already had that morning. Bulma and her parents had taken the children shopping, thus leaving the house empty for most of the day, and Vegeta hadn’t hesitated to take advantage. He felt more at ease here on his own turf than he did in Kakarot’s sex cave, at any rate. 

“Anyway,” he finally growled, getting his thoughts back together, “I was going to ask about your marriage which is why I asked first, if you must know.”

“Oh,” Kakarot nodded, eyeing him curiously. “Yeah, sure, you can ask me anything. I don’t mind.”

Of course he didn’t, Vegeta nearly rolled his eyes. “It’s just… when this first started,” he began, and Kakarot didn’t have to ask to know what he was referring to, “you didn’t even know how to properly kiss. How the hell could you be married with children and not know what a kiss is and how to do it?”

“Oh, that,” Kakarot chuckled, folding his arms under his head and looking up at the ceiling. “I don’t really know, I just - well, you know how I grew up.”

“Yes, in the woods like a wild animal.”

“Sort of,” Kakarot snorted. “And when I first met Chi-Chi I thought a bride was something to eat. The whole idea of romance and relationships... I had no clue about any of it. I probably barely do even now, to be honest.”

“But you  _ have children _ ,” Vegeta pointed out. “How did you mate with her without kissing being involved? Surely she expected to be kissed.”

“She… was very patient with me,” Kakarot replied, expression growing wistful as he thought back on those early days of his marriage. “Still is. She’s amazing. But she was just as nervous as I was and I was… selfish,” his lips slowly dropped into a frown. “Didn’t really know that I was and I tried to do it all right and do what she wanted, but…”

Vegeta grunted, surprised that it hadn’t simply come naturally for Kakarot. But then again, Vegeta could hardly fathom growing up as Kakarot had and how that would shape one’s mind and worldview. 

“So you were a poor lover,” Vegeta surmised. 

Kakarot sighed. “Yeah. I mean, I don’t think I was the  _ worst _ . At least I hope I wasn’t. I always tried but I know sometimes I treated it like a chore and would have rather been training. Or eating.”

Vegeta turned and stared at Kakarot like he was absolutely insane. “Are you not attracted to your woman?”

Kakarot’s eyes widened and he looked a touch offended. “Of course I am! What kind of question is that?”

“You’re the one saying you didn’t want to sleep with your wife!” Vegeta argued back. 

“Well, that’s just because I was stupid,” Kakarot shrugged. “Or something.” Then he paused and, features growing sad again, added, “Our relationship is… it’s not like you and Bulma. You guys make it look so easy.”

Vegeta scoffed. “Our relationship has  _ hardly _ been easy.”

“Yeah, but you’ve never left her for years at a time.”

Vegeta paused. “Ah. Yes I would imagine your constant absences would take a toll.”

Kakarot was quiet for a moment or two before he spoke again. “It’s been hard. Things between us didn’t just fall back into place like I thought they would every time I came back. My deaths were so hard on her, and raising Goten alone… we were like strangers, when I came back after Buu.”

Vegeta listened silently, somewhat surprised to hear those words, but they certainly made sense. 

“And I was an idiot,” Kakarot laughed grimly. “I tried to just hop back into bed with her right away and ended up making things worse. We fought a lot and she kept crying no matter what I did and… yeah, it was tough there at first. So I just gave her space and got to work farming like she wanted me to and I just hoped things would work out eventually.”

“It seems that they have, if what Bulma has told me against my will is any indication,” Vegeta replied with a slight blush, recalling when she’d told him how his and Kakarot’s sexual exploits had awakened a sleeping dragon within the younger Saiyan and that Chi-Chi was reaping the benefits rather frequently. 

“Oh yeah,” Kakarot grinned. “Basically we just agreed to start over and take it slow. Get to know each other all over again, since we’d both changed so much over the years. And it really worked. I love her so much,” he smiled happily, the truth of his words written on his face. 

“I presume you’ve finally kissed her, then.”

“Oh, I can’t get enough now,” Kakarot chuckled. “Physically things between us have never been better, thanks to you. You’ve been an amazing teacher. I never knew I could like sex this much, it’s great!”

Vegeta huffed and sat up in the bed, sheets pooled in his lap. “You are truly the strangest person I’ve ever known, Kakarot.”

Kakarot hummed, reaching out and running his fingers down Vegeta’s side. “So can I ask you a question now?”

“Sure, why not,” Vegeta muttered, rolling his eyes.

“If you could have anything in the world - well, the whole universe, I guess - what would it be?”

Vegeta blinked at the strange question, turning and eyeing Kakarot suspiciously. “What kind of question is that?”

Kakarot shrugged innocently. “I dunno, just curious.”

Vegeta narrowed his eyes. “Why?”

“Geez, Vegeta, not everything is so serious or has some kind of hidden motive,” Kakarot laughed quietly. “I’m just trying to get to know you better.”

Vegeta stared at him warily for a moment or two longer but finally huffed and looked away, muttering, “I’m married to the richest woman on the planet. I want for nothing.”

“Right, but I’m sure there’s  _ something _ .”

“Not really.”

“Are you sure? Nothing? Not even like… some food you had on some weird planet one time years ago, or maybe a -“

“No, Kakarot.”

“Maybe a vacation in space? Ooh, I know! A puppy! Actually I bet you’re a cat person, so maybe an adorable tiny little kitty c-“

“My tail, okay?!” Vegeta finally snapped, turning suddenly furious eyes on Kakarot. “The only thing I want that I don’t have is my tail, now fuck off, Kakarot.”

Kakarot fell silent, his features giving away his surprise. “Oh.”

“Yes,  _ oh _ ,” Vegeta mocked, getting up from the bed and storming off towards the bathroom. 

Kakarot sat up, eyes worried as he watched Vegeta stomp away. “Hey, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to upset y-“

The door slammed behind Vegeta, and Kakarot fell silent. Vegeta, scowl firmly in place, set about turning on the shower to its hottest setting and crossed his arms as he waited for the water to heat up. It was moments like these where he  _ hated _ Kakarot and wished he didn’t have to endure his constant presence in his life, wished he didn’t have to put up with his incorruptible good nature and naïveté, wished that he just knew when to shut the hell up. But Kakarot was Kakarot, and that was just who he was. 

And Vegeta couldn’t live with or without him, it seemed. 

Once in the shower and under the blessedly scalding water, Vegeta let out a deep breath and let himself relax as much as he could under the circumstances. With any luck Kakarot would be gone by the time he was done, but it was only seconds later that it became clear luck wasn’t on his side today. 

“M’sorry, Vegeta,” Kakarot murmured lowly as he slid up behind Vegeta, that broad chest pressing against Vegeta’s back and enveloping him in his familiar warmth. He slid his arms around Vegeta and kissed under his neck as he added, “I didn’t mean to make you mad.”

Vegeta tried to hold on to his anger, tried to cling to it like a lifeline but instead it melted away like it had never even been there to begin with. It was the most disconcerting thing to happen to Vegeta in some time - since when had he become capable of  _ not _ staying angry at Kakarot? Was he really this far gone without even realizing it?

Kakarot kissed down Vegeta’s neck and let his hands roam all over him, touching and kissing him just how he knew he liked, and Vegeta cursed his body for responding so instantly and beautifully. There was no use fighting it so Vegeta gave in, leaning his head back and capturing Kakarot’s lips in a kiss that they both groaned softly into. It was just so easy, so terrifyingly natural, and Vegeta had forgotten how to say no when it came to Kakarot. Besides, he didn’t much want to anyway. 

And that was why he didn’t protest when Kakarot nudged him against the wall a few moments later, Vegeta bracing himself against the cool tile with his palms as Kakarot slowly, lazily slid inside him for the second time that morning. They’d taken turns earlier and there was no resistance from Vegeta’s body as Kakarot began slowly thrusting into him, his right hand snaking around to stroke his cock in the same rhythm, and Vegeta simply laid his forehead against the wall and let himself drift away in the pleasure. 

As they rocked together lazily under the still-fiery hot water, Kakarot alternated between kissing Vegeta everywhere he could reach and murmuring sweet words into his ear like  _ you’re perfect _ and  _ feel so good _ and, most startlingly of all,  _ Kami I’d stay inside you forever if I could _ . It was nothing like the rough, violent sex they both loved so much, and Kakarot’s voice was so sincere and his words so pure it made Vegeta’s chest ache. He hated it and everything about it but he was helpless to stop it, craving more like an addict craved their poison, and in that moment he didn’t care about the consequences. He just needed  _ more _ , and Kakarot was more than happy to give it to him. 

In the end Vegeta came silently in Kakarot’s arms, his head leaned back and their mouths a breath apart as he gasped against Kakarot’s lips, and he could feel it when Kakarot followed him soon after. Then, after they caught their breath and opened their eyes, Kakarot smirked down at him and Vegeta couldn’t help but grin back. 

He was so hilariously fucked. 

—

“Ugh, step aside,” Vegeta groaned about half an hour later, pushing Kakarot away as he commandeered the stovetop that the younger man was clearly not adept at operating. “I’d like to eat something that  _ doesn’t _ taste like pathetic sludge.”

Kakarot chuckled and happily yielded, leaning against the counter as he replied, “Hey, I never said I was any good at cooking. At least not this kinda cooking - never quite got the hang of rice. Always turns out mushy and gross.”

“It’s a science,” Vegeta rolled his eyes, adjusting the stovetop temperature and then rooting around the cabinets for a properly fitting lid. “But not rocket science.”

“Guess I’ll just stick to fish. Oh, and I make a killer s’more.”

“I have no doubt,” Vegeta mused, glancing at the other man out of the corner of his eye. “Can you set the table or are you too uncivilized to know how?”

Kakarot stuck his tongue out. “You think I’ve been married to Chi-Chi this long and don’t know how to set a table?”

“Well, only a matter of months ago you didn’t even know how to kiss, so -“

“Aw man, low blow!” Kakarot laughed as he began working on his assigned task, and Vegeta barely noticed the easy smile on his own face. It happened so often now with him, no longer a rare occurrence that felt so foreign on his face that he was aware every time it happened. He’d have been disturbed by it if he’d noticed it, but he was too damn  _ happy _ to do so. 

And really, that should have been his first clue that the morning was doomed to end in disaster. 

After sitting down and digging into their brunch, Kakarot could hardly stop raving over Vegeta’s cooking skills and babbling ungracefully through huge mouthfuls of food, and it didn’t even get on Vegeta’s nerves at all. Instead he simply listened and occasionally allowed himself a proud smile, some strange part of him taking pride in satisfying Kakarot in a non-carnal and non-violent way. 

“Seriously, man,” Kakarot raved, his stack of empty dishes piling up to comical heights as he attacked a new one. “Have you always been this good at making food?”

Vegeta shrugged, inhaling his own meal with a touch more dignity. “Not really. With the Frieza Force I ate mostly slop, and on missions the limbs of our dead enemies.”

Kakarot made a face. “Gross.”

Vegeta shrugged. “Once I came here I learned how to cook certain things so that I wouldn’t always be at the mercy of the woman or her mother.”

“Huh, makes sense. Chi-Chi never takes a day off from cooking so I don’t really have to worry about that.”

Vegeta  _ hmphed _ . “That woman deserves a statue erected in her honor.”

“She sure does,” Kakarot heartily agreed. “Did you know she trained Goten herself while I was dead?”

Vegeta nodded. “Yes, I offered to train the brat when he was born and she told me to go fuck myself.”

Kakarot paused, eyes growing huge. “In those words? Really?”

“... I believe it was more along the lines of  _ if anyone’s going to be training my precious baby it’s going to be me, _ and when I questioned her qualifications she kicked me through a window.”

Kakarot positively cackled. “That’s my Chi-Chi!”

“She’s certainly stronger than she looks.”

“Oh yeah, she can definitely hold her own,” Kakarot replied. Then he grew quiet for a moment, taking a break from stuffing his face. “ _ Wow _ . For some reason I don’t think I ever realized how many things you were there for that I wasn’t.”

Taking note of the sudden sad glint in Kakarot’s eye, Vegeta replied, “Bulma didn’t give me a choice.”

“Still,” Kakarot shrugged. “Thank you for being there when I wasn’t.”

Vegeta flushed, suddenly uncomfortable. He looked down at his food and a memory flooded his mind against his will - one of the many nights that Bulma took Goten off Chi-Chi’s hands to give the still-grieving widow a break. Trunks had been having a fit over going to bed and Bulma had tossed Goten at Vegeta for him to deal with while she settled their son, and while Vegeta had protested and held the 6 month old baby at arms length while waiting impatiently for Bulma to come back, the child managed to curl up rather comfortably in Vegeta’s arms and defy his plans. Vegeta had glared down at the tiny carbon copy of Kakarot before Goten simply giggled at him and laid his head on his shoulder, and Vegeta sat in utter shock as the child fell asleep like that. Bulma had snuck a photo of the scene when she’d returned, and Vegeta had threatened to blow up the planet if she ever showed it to anyone. 

From then on he’d loved the little brat like his own, and he never planned on admitting it to anyone ever. 

“Someone had to look after the last remaining Saiyans,” Vegeta finally muttered, pushing the food around on his plate. 

“Yeah. I can always trust you to be there when we really need you,” Kakarot smiled, loading up his own fork again. “That’s why I love you.” He then began happily and obliviously stuffing his face once again, completely unaware of Vegeta’s entire world shifting on its axis. 

Ice flooding his veins, Vegeta stared at Kakarot in shock but he didn’t notice. Vegeta couldn’t even sink into denial and tell himself that he’d clearly heard wrong, because his hearing was  _ excellent _ and he knew damn well what he’d heard. And it was just so  _ fucking _ fitting that Kakarot would just… casually say something like that and not even think twice about it, completely and utterly unaware of the weight of those words and what they might do to Vegeta. 

And what the words did was trigger Vegeta’s old, long-buried defense mechanisms - the same ones that Bulma had spent  _ years _ working hard to fight her way through - and brought up a shield around his vulnerable heart. It was the only way that he knew how to cope with what was happening, and in a way it was almost comforting - like slipping into an old familiar pair of shoes, even if they didn’t quite fit right anymore. 

Calmly - too calmly - Vegeta stood and grabbed Kakarot’s plate out from his hands, muttering, “That’s enough. Leave.”

Kakarot swallowed down his mouthful with a noisy gulp, then furrowed his brows as Vegeta tossed their dishes into the sink without a word. “What?”

“You heard me,” Vegeta said, crossing his arms and glaring at the sink. “Get out. Now.”

Kakarot tilted his head in confusion, genuine worry settling over his features as he asked, “Did I… did I make you mad again? Was it something I said? I didn’t mean -“

Vegeta gritted his teeth and, fighting every fiber of his being that screamed in protest of what he was about to do, said, “This is over, Kakarot. We had our fun but it’s run its course.”

Kakarot didn’t move, suddenly frozen to his seat as his worried eyes grew shocked. His voice was painfully small as he muttered, “... What?”

“This was never a permanent arrangement,” Vegeta growled, still refusing to look back at him. “I’ve grown bored of it.”

“But -“

Vegeta’s fists tightened. “Don’t argue with me, Kakarot, I told you it’s over - now leave.”

“No.”

Kakarot was now standing directly behind him, and Vegeta steeled himself as he turned around to face him head on. 

“Everything was fine this morning,” Kakarot pointed out, his expression more suspicious than hurt. “What’s going on, Vegeta? You’re acting weird.”

_ Of course _ Kakarot wouldn’t make this easy for him. “I’ve been bored of our… activities for some time now,” Vegeta lied. “I’ve only let it go on as long as I have for your sake but I’ve run out of patience.”

Kakarot blinked and stared at him as if he were a particularly challenging puzzle, and one missing key pieces at that. “Are you joking?”

Vegeta glared at him. “Do I look like I’m joking?”

“No, but this doesn’t make any sense. What’s  _ really _ going on?”

Fine, Vegeta decided. If Kakarot wanted it this way, Vegeta would oblige. He knew where to strike for maximum impact - it was his speciality, in fact. 

“What’s really going on,” Vegeta seethed, taking a step closer to him, “is what I told you at the beginning of all of this. I am sick of your constant presence in my life, Kakarot, and I’ve had my fill of you.”

Kakarot blinked several times, trying to make sense of it all and failing miserably. “But… I thought we…”

Vegeta laughed bitterly. “You thought what? That what we had was  _ special _ ? That it  _ meant _ something? Don’t be ridiculous - it was always just sex and nothing more. Only a means to an end.”

Kakarot stared at him hard. “I don’t believe you.”

“And why not?” Vegeta asked, advancing upon him menacingly, anger seeping from his very pores. “Do you think I actually care for you, Kakarot? Don’t make me laugh,” he grinned. “You mean nothing to me. You were nothing more than a convenient way to get off without holding back my strength.” When Kakarot continued to stare at him clearly without believing him, Vegeta decided to take it a step further. “Remember when you asked me if I only fucked you because you’re the only Saiyan left?”

Kakarot’s hard expression began to waver, and his voice was small as he muttered, “You… you said that wasn’t it, and that you really did want me.”

“I lied,” Vegeta declared. “It’s the only reason why I ever touched you. I would break anyone else I let go with - why else would I spare you a second glance? I used you for your strength and that’s it.”

Kakarot’s eyes began to grow watery, and Vegeta hated himself in that moment more than he had in a long, long time. But that didn’t stop him from twisting the knife a little more. 

“At least your brother understood that.”

The words fell from his lips like an anchor, trapping them both in the cursed, horrible moment with nowhere to go to escape it. Kakarot’s eyes widened in shock, and Vegeta had to bite back a sudden wave of nausea as the reality of what he said fully dawned on him. 

It was a lie, of course. A stupid, utterly absurd lie, but it served Vegeta’s purposes stunningly well. 

“My brother?” Kakarot breathed. “You and Raditz… you…”

“I told you sex between warriors is no new concept,” Vegeta pointed out, pretending that the hurt laid bare on Kakarot’s face did nothing to him. 

Kakarot opened his mouth and closed it a few times, his features growing  _ pained _ as he struggled for words. “You told me… you never… remember? You told me I was the first Saiyan you’d ever…”

“I lied, Kakarot, I’m a fucking liar!” Vegeta roared, and when Kakarot winced slightly in response a small part of Vegeta broke inside. “What do you expect?! I’m not like you and your pathetic friends! I’m selfish and I take what I want and I don’t give a shit who I hurt!”

“No,” Kakarot muttered, coming closer to Vegeta with his shaky hands reaching out his way. “No, Geta, you’re not like that and you know it. You’ve changed, you’re good, you’re - dammit, why are you doing this?!”

“Because,” Vegeta smacked his hands away, “I should have done this a long time ago.”

“Yeah, maybe you should have. I was starting to -“ Kakarot faltered, his eyes brimming with unshed tears again as his face crumbled briefly and voice shook. “Vegeta, I was starting to fall in l-“

_ No _ . 

Vegeta saw red - or blue, as it were - and let out a guttural roar as he slammed into Kakarot and sent them both flying through the building and into the grass outside. He landed on top of Kakarot and wasted no time in punching him in the face, his threadbare grip on his self control gone and nothing but rage and terror guiding his actions now. 

And Kakarot just laid there and took it, making no move to block Vegeta’s blows or even power up to match his energy level. 

“I,” his left fist crashed into Kakarot’s cheek, “don’t,” his right collided with his temple, “care about you, you fucking idiot! I never have and I never will! You disgust me,” he crashed their foreheads together in a vicious headbutt that made them both see stars. “You mean nothing to me and I swear on my life - I’ll fucking kill you if you ever touch me again.”

Kakarot laid there beneath him, taking each blow that continued to rain down mercilessly upon him, and Vegeta only stopped when his own hands began to ache. It was then that he truly saw clearly enough through his rage to see what he’d done, and the truth of it repulsed him. Kakarot was bruised, bleeding and broken, one eye swollen shut and his jaw likely shattered, his hair wet with blood that poured from his broken nose and from other cuts that Vegeta had made. For the first time in his life he hadn’t fought back or even tried to defend himself, and Vegeta had never felt more ashamed. 

Tears flowed freely from Kakarot’s eyes, leaving clear tracks through the blood on his face, and Vegeta couldn’t stand to look at him another second longer. His power fading to his base level, Vegeta got off of the other man and got to his feet. He swayed for a moment under the weight of his own crushing guilt but he forced himself to keep moving and didn’t look back once, afraid of what he might do if he did. 

Instead he wandered back into the house through the massive hole he’d blasted through it, and his feet carried him to the gravity room. Once inside he locked the door and set the gravity to 600 and then sat down against the control panel, hugging his knees to his chest as the overwhelming pressure from the artificial gravity bore down unforgivingly on his body. He could hardly breathe, barely able to lift even a finger like this, but that was what he wanted. He wanted the pain, wanted it to envelope him and reduce him into the meaningless dust he knew that he was and always would be. 

He hadn’t changed after all, he thought bitterly to himself. He was still a monster, still a piece of shit Prince of nothing and nobody, and maybe that had always been his unavoidable destiny. 

He pretended the moisture pouring down his cheeks were from the sweat on his brow rather than the tears streaming from his eyes, lowering his forehead to his knees and gritting his teeth as he waited for the gravity to crush him. 

It didn’t, of course, but he knew he deserved it all the same. 

—

The aftermath was, unsurprisingly, a disaster in itself. 

Bulma and the children came home to the house partially destroyed, and when Bulma banged on the gravity room’s door to demand what had happened she was ignored. She then pulled up security footage to simply see for herself what had occurred, and her blood ran cold as she watched the horrible truth of it. 

Goku was gone, so Bulma called Chi-Chi to ask if he was home and if he was okay. Chi-Chi said he hadn’t come home and that she hadn’t heard from him at all since the day prior, so Bulma had little choice but to tell her what Vegeta had done to him. By then on the verge of hysterics, Chi-Chi got off the phone with Bulma to get hold of Gohan and have him start looking for Goku. 

With at least that set in motion, Bulma returned to the gravity room and huffed when she found it still locked and in use. She didn’t hesitate to walk herself to her lab and disable the room remotely, knowing Vegeta would probably lash out at her over it but she didn’t care. He needed to give her answers and he needed to do it  _ now _ . 

But when she returned to the room and opened the door, she found Vegeta unconscious face down on the floor. She rushed to him in a panic, thinking the worst until she turned him over and found him still breathing. She let out a breath of relief and called for Trunks, who helped her carry him to CC’s small medical wing. 

Meanwhile Gohan and Goten were scouring the city for their father’s ki signature, but they couldn’t sense him anywhere. It was more than a little unusual, as Goku rarely ever felt the need to hide his ki unless there was danger on the horizon, and thus it only added to his family’s worries. They expanded their search party to include Piccolo, Krillin and 18, and it wasn’t until nearly midnight that he was finally found. 

It was Gohan who found him, bloody and injured and asleep as he huddled against a tree in the forest. He wasn’t quite alone, as a handful of animals including a doe and a baby dinosaur had gathered around him and rested at his side as if even they were worried about him. They watched Gohan silently as he gently picked up his father and flew off to carry him back home, where Chi-Chi was pacing anxiously and nearly worrying herself into a heart attack. 

After Gohan arrived back at Mt Paozu, the rest of the search party followed soon after. He laid Goku in his and Chi-Chi’s bed and Krillin was quick to shove a senzu bean in his mouth while the group watched and waited nervously, unsure if he was even able to chew in his current state. But within seconds he’d swallowed the bean and his injuries vanished as if they’d never happened to begin with, and Chi-Chi let out a sob as she began wiping his face clean. 

Meanwhile, at Capsule Corp, Vegeta awoke to the smell of disinfectant and the sound of rhythmic beeping. He groaned and reached up to pull away the oxygen mask from his face, and when he opened his eyes he was greeted by the sight of his son’s visibly worried face. 

“Mom,” Trunks yelled over his shoulder, “he’s awake!”

Groaning again even more miserably this time and knowing what was coming if he didn’t get out of there before Bulma came stomping into the room, Vegeta used the very last of his already nonexistent strength to blast yet another hole through the nearest wall and fly away into the night. Bulma ran in just in time to see him disappearing into the moonlight, screaming every curse word she’d ever learned at him as Trunks stared at her in both surprise and admiration, undoubtedly taking note of a few words for his own later use. 

With Vegeta gone only Kami knew where for Kami knew how long, Bulma knew there was now only one way for her to get answers. The next morning she prepped her jet and headed over to the Son house, hoping the truth wasn’t as bad as what she feared it might be. 

—

Bulma had known Goku longer than anyone and had seen him at incredible heights and tragic lows, but this was the first time she had ever seen him  _ heartbroken _ . 

He was holed up in bed, pale and puffy-eyed, and eating an entire unsliced pizza. Judging by the boxes piled up next to him, Bulma guessed it was his 12th or 13th pizza. 

“He won’t talk to me,” Chi-Chi sighed quietly to Bulma in the doorway as they looked on in concern. “He won’t talk to Gohan or Krillin, either. I don’t know what to do, Bulma - he was  _ bad _ when we found him. His face was so messed up, I could hardly recognize him.”

Bulma grimaced, her heart aching for Goku. There was simply no way he’d done anything to deserve what Vegeta had done to him - he just couldn’t have, Bulma knew, and she hadn’t felt this kind of disappointment in her husband since the Buu days. 

“Come on,” Bulma said quietly, taking Chi-Chi’s hand and taking her inside the room. Goku didn’t spare either of them a passing glance as Bulma took a seat in a small chair next to the bed, Chi-Chi opting to stand and gaze worriedly at her husband while Bulma tried to find the right words to say. 

Then again, direct and blunt had always been the best way to go with Goku. 

“Goku,” she began quietly, “what the hell happened between you and Vegeta?”

He ignored her, sniffling as he ate about two large slice’s worth of pizza in one bite. It was disgusting but, well, depression meals usually were. 

“Goku,” she tried again, “you need to tell us what happened.”

A few moments passed silently - save for the sound of Goku’s noisy chewing - and finally, after swallowing and taking a shaky breath, Goku muttered without looking at either woman, “Where is he?”

“I don’t know,” Bulma answered honestly. “I found him passed out in the gravity room so I took him to the medical wing and got him stabilized, but he flew off the minute he woke up and Trunks can’t sense him anywhere.”

Goku blinked and finally made eye contact. “Is he okay?”

Bulma smiled at him sadly. “Goku, I know what he did to you. I saw it on my security footage. What I don’t know is  _ why _ . Right now I’m worried about you, not him.”

Goku looked away, his features pained as he yanked up the comforter in his lap and wrapped it around him like a cocoon. “I’m fine.”

“Goku,” Chi-Chi interjected, “he broke your nose and shattered your jaw. You probably had brain damage, too - he could have killed you!”

Goku shrugged. “I would have let him.”

“What?!” both women shrieked in unison. 

“I didn’t fight back,” he clarified, refusing to look either woman in the eye. “For the first time ever I just… didn’t have it in me.”

Chi-Chi, squaring her shoulders and taking on a look of pure determination, walked forward and sat next to Goku on the bed. “Goku,” she said calmly but firmly, “tell us what happened right now or I will go find him myself and strangle him for what he did to you.”

Goku stared up at the ceiling without really seeing it, his misery so potent Bulma could swear she actually felt it. “I… did something wrong, I guess. I don’t know what I did, but whatever it was it made him… snap and tell me to leave. And that it was over and that he never really wanted me anyway.” 

Chi-Chi turned and looked at Bulma helplessly, and all Bulma could do was sigh sadly. 

“He… he told me that he lied to me before,” Goku continued, brows furrowing as he remembered the painful, razor-sharp words. “That he was just using me for my strength. He even…” Goku paused and winced, a fresh wave of tears welling up in his reddened eyes, “he said he slept with my brother. With Raditz.”

Bulma’s eyes flew wide open. “...  _ What?!  _ That fucking liar! He was a virgin when he met me and he knows it! He never slept with anyone before me, let alone your brother!”

Goku looked at her doubtfully. “I don’t know. I don’t think he was lying.”

Bulma huffed and opened her mouth to start ranting again, but then she took a breath and forced herself to focus on what was most important, which was getting to the bottom of all this. “Okay, Goku, think back to before he snapped. What were you guys talking about? What made him lose his mind?”

Chi-Chi glared at Bulma. “Are you trying to blame  _ my _ Goku for what  _ your _ husband did to him?”

“No,” Bulma snapped back. “I’m trying to understand what happened, that’s all. Of course it’s not Goku’s fault, I’m not a victim blamer!”

Ignoring their bickering, Goku seemed to concentrate rather hard for a moment before answering Bulma’s question. “We were talking about Goten, and when I was dead,” he recalled. “I realized how much Vegeta was there for that I wasn’t, so I thanked him. He brushed it off and said he didn’t have a choice, and that it was his job to look after the only Saiyans left. I said that I knew I could always trust him when I needed him, and that’s why I -“ Goku’s eyes widened and the blood drained from his face. 

Both women leaned forward. “What?” Bulma asked. 

“I’m an idiot,” Goku groaned, sinking down further into his blanket cocoon in despair. “I’m the biggest moron on the planet.”

“Why?” Chi-Chi demanded. “Tell us, Goku!”

“I told him I loved him and I didn’t even realize I said it,” Goku groaned, covering his face with his hands. “I just… said it like it was nothing. To  _ Vegeta _ . Oh, Kami, no wonder he tried to kill me…”

Bulma stood up and crossed her arms, anger rising in her veins. “Goku, don’t you dare.” When Goku and Chi-Chi looked up at her in confusion, she went on, “You didn’t do anything wrong so don’t you dare blame yourself. Vegeta might be an emotionally constipated weirdo with enough trauma and baggage to fill an airport but that doesn’t give him the right to hurt you like that, Goku. Not only did he lie to you about fucking your brother of all things but he attacked you for no reason, and I don’t care if you’re both Saiyans and fighting is what you do - that was no fight, that was just an  _ assault _ .”

“She’s right, Goku,” Chi-Chi told him softly, touching his cheek. 

“But don’t you guys see? It makes sense now,” Goku insisted. “I pushed him too far and I was too stupid to see it, so he snapped and pushed back. It  _ is _ my fault.”

“No it is not!” Chi-Chi yelled. “Stop saying that!”

Suddenly Goku threw off his blanket and scrambled up to his feet, touching two fingertips to his forehead. “I have to see him. I’ll just find him and apologize and -“

“Oh, no you don’t,” Bulma declared, grabbing his hand and yanking it down. “Seeing him is the last thing either of you need right now.”

“But Bulma -“

“Don’t  _ Bulma _ me,” she retorted. “You both need space and you know it.”

Goku’s eyes grew hurt. “But I -“

“I know,” Bulma replied gently. “I love him too. But he’s not easy to love. He’s… complicated. And right now he needs to be alone, and so do you. If you went to him now he’d just explode again and hurt you even more.”

The fight within Goku faded, and he slumped as he came to terms with the truth of her words. “Bulma,” he murmured, eyes shining again, “I don’t wanna lose him.”

“I know,” Bulma sighed, pulling him into a hug and wishing she’d never pushed Vegeta towards Goku in the first place. All she’d wanted to do was help and encourage them to give into the obvious chemistry between them and see where it would lead, but she’d never dreamed that it would end up like this. Now Goku was in love with Vegeta and Vegeta, well, she knew it would take a miracle for him to admit his own feelings but she also knew him more than well enough by now to know the truth. He wouldn’t have snapped and done everything in his power to push Goku away had he not been scared, and if he didn’t reciprocate Goku’s feelings, why else would he be so scared? 

And as Bulma hugged and comforted her oldest friend, Chi-Chi watched with tears swimming in her own eyes. Goku had never once had his heart broken in his entire life, and now she was helpless to do anything but stand by and watch him fall apart. She had trusted Vegeta to take care of Goku, having watched how well he looked after his own family and even little Goten for years, and for him to turn around and do this  _ just _ because Goku slipped up and let his feelings out… it filled her with a sort of righteous fury that she hadn’t felt in years. 

She decided, then, that maybe she wasn’t quite so helpless in this situation after all. Goku was so ready to just roll over and beg Vegeta for forgiveness when he’d done absolutely nothing wrong in her judgment, and she simply wouldn’t have that. No, if Goku wasn’t gonna make Vegeta pay, then she would. 

Hands balled up into fists at her side, Chi-Chi marched out to where Goten was raiding the kitchen’s pantry for snacks and bellowed, “Goten!”

He jumped so high he nearly hit the ceiling, looking back at her around a mouthful of beef jerky. “Yes Mama?”

She pushed up her sleeves and planted her hands on her hips. “I need you to fly me somewhere.”

  
  



	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chi-Chi helps Goku pick up the pieces, and after some time passes, a much-needed confrontation between Goku and Vegeta finally happens.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the wait for this!! Got a little bit (or a lot) stuck and took me awhile to get myself back into gear but we made it and I don’t totally hate how it turned out so yay 😂 sadly no smut in this chapter, but I’ll make up for it in the next (and final) chapter, double pinky promise. Thank you guys so much for your support (the kudos count for this?? is insane?? and the comments??? holy crap 😭😭😭) and I hope you all like it. See ya next time!!

Standing at the edge of a cliff with his arms crossed tightly and his face a mask of grim determination, Vegeta wasn’t surprised when he felt two distinct ki signatures racing his way. If anything he was surprised it had taken anyone this long to come and harass him, but as the kis grew closer and he identified who they belonged to, he froze. 

He’d expected Trunks and Bulma, or maybe even… _him_ , but instead it was _his_ wife and youngest brat. 

He didn’t move as Goten gently set Chi-Chi down on her feet and then obediently stayed back as she approached Vegeta from behind. Her footsteps were sure, confident, and really he expected no less from her. She and Kakarot were kindred spirits in how recklessly bold they could both be, but he doubted if the woman even realized that. 

In any case, Vegeta didn’t budge or blink when her steps came to a halt just behind him. 

“So,” she began evenly, “how long are you going to sulk and hide?”

He gritted his teeth. He wasn’t _hiding_. He just wanted to be left alone, dammit. 

“I’m starting to think all you Saiyans are the same,” she added. “Both my boys would do the same thing when they knew they’d screwed up bad. Or maybe it’s just a boy thing.” She sighed and he could somehow tell she was shaking her head. “Always making messes for your women to clean up.”

He still refused to twitch so much as a single muscle. 

“You know,” she said far more sharply, “I’ve been letting you fuck my husband for _months_ \- the least you could do is show me a shred of respect and look at me.”

And damn her, but she knew how to get what she wanted. Vegeta gritted his teeth and turned around but remained silent, meeting her gaze head on and watching as her expression went from hard to surprised and then concerned. 

“You look terrible,” she noted, then quickly schooled her features back to angry. “But you deserve it after what you did to my Goku.”

Silent and still as a statue, Vegeta stared at her blankly. In his peripheral vision he could see Goten far enough away to be out of earshot, keeping himself amused by chasing a pair of chirping birds. 

“I’ve taken care of Goku after a _lot_ of fights,” she went on. “And I thought that I’d seen it all until yesterday but I guess I hadn’t, because I’ve never seen what would happen to him if he didn’t fight back.”

Shame bubbling up from deep within where he’d tried to bury it, Vegeta did his best to shove it back down and maintain his impassive stare. 

“But you know what the worst part is?” she asked, her own dark eyes starting to swim with tears even as her features stayed angered. “As bad as his injuries were, you did something even worse to him. He’s never once in his life had his heart broken until now. And by _you_ . Do you understand that? Do you realize what you’ve done to him, how badly you hurt him? There’s no senzu bean in the universe that can fix what you did. And I just don’t understand _why_ .” She took a step closer to him and, a tear rolling free from the corner of her eye, she asked desperately, “Vegeta, _why_?”

He might have answered her, had he known how to. But as it was, he genuinely did not. 

“He told us what happened and I just - I don’t understand,” she lifted and then dropped her arms. “So he told you he loves you - so _what_ ? Do you really mean to tell me that you didn’t already know? Are you _that_ blind?”

Vegeta blinked, surprise widening his eyes by just a fraction. 

Chi-Chi laughed humorlessly. “Maybe you’ve _both_ taken too many hits to the head.” She wiped at her eyes and let out a deep breath. “You know, nothing was ever the same after you Saiyans came to earth. Before that things were normal - or as normal as they ever were. It was just me, Goku and Gohan, and for 5 years he stayed home and took care of us. I was so happy, and I thought he was too,” she paused, swallowing and dropping her gaze briefly. “And then his brother showed up and took Gohan and ever since it’s just been one circle of hell after another. But I realized something, after you became one of us. You gave him what he’d always been missing and what I could never give him - you gave him answers.”

Vegeta’s brows knit in confusion, but she was quick to explain. 

“His whole life, people have stared at him like he was some kind of alien,” she smiled sadly. “From when he was a kid with a tail, fighting monsters and eating enough in one sitting to feed an elephant, he was always different. Earth is his home but it also isn’t, you know? You can’t fit a square peg in a round hole. Though I guess that's what I did for years, trying to keep him at home and out of fights,” she sighed again, suddenly looking exhausted. “But the funny thing is he never really took any of it to heart. He’s always just been himself and he’s never been ashamed of who he is, but he didn’t understand _why_ he was different. Until you. You came along and the two of you had this weird… connection, rivalry, whatever you wanna call it, and even when you spent all your time fighting and yelling at each other it still made him happy because he wasn’t alone anymore. He knew someone who was _like_ him, who proved that he wasn’t just some freak of nature who didn’t really belong anywhere.”

Something in Vegeta’s chest began to ache. He ignored it with every fiber of his being. 

“And you know, I’m not a stupid woman,” Chi-Chi added in solemnly, crossing her arms. “I’ve always seen the way that you look at him and the way he looks at you. Took you both years to figure it out but me and Bulma always knew it was just a matter of time. I know him better than anyone,” she shrugged. “He’s always loved you.”

Everything in Vegeta wanted to argue and prove her wrong, but instead his brain flooded with the memory of what Kakarot had told him before he’d let Vegeta top him for the first time - _Vegeta, you’ve always amazed me. We could have been like this from the very start, I never would have said no to you_.

The ache in his chest bloomed into something much sharper and harder to ignore. 

“And it’s fine,” she added, her tone genuine. “I know he loves me just as much. He accepts me for what I am and I accept him as he is, and I want him to be happy. You give him something I can’t, and I give him something _you_ can’t. It works out - or at least it would, if you would get your head out of your ass and go apologize for what you did to him.”

Vegeta stared at her, her speech having torn through his defenses more effectively than any weapon ever could, and then she glanced back at Goten and smiled. “And it’s not just about Goku, either, you know. Goten loves you. We all do.” She turned back to Vegeta and offered him a warm smile that nearly knocked him off his feet. “You’ve been a part of our family for a long time. And you've given my boys a better example of what a husband and father should be than Goku ever has, so I’m grateful.”

Then she stepped closer to him, invading his space and letting her warmth completely dissipate. In its place was pure, unadulterated anger burning like fire in her eyes as she stared him down and pointed a finger at his chest. “But you listen to me, Vegeta. You hurt my Goku again and it’ll be the last time you touch him. You will apologize and you will make this right, and you will earn his forgiveness. You hear me? If you don’t, then you lose him for good. And I think that would break you the same way you broke him.”

Vegeta’s arms came uncrossed at some point, now hanging limp at his sides as he stared silently at the woman. He’d expected her to fly into a rage and hit him, slap him, whack him over the head with a broom or frying pan - but this? This he was thoroughly unprepared for, and it damn sure showed. 

After a moment of silence she took a breath and then let it go, hands returning to her hips. “Well. I said all that I came to say, so… I guess I’ll let you get back to your sulking.”

She turned and got a step and a half away before he stopped her. 

“Woman.” 

She stopped and looked back to him. “Yes?”

“Is Kakarot…” he swallowed and looked down, his throat suddenly too tight to speak. 

“He’s fine,” she replied. “Physically, anyway. But he hasn’t gotten out of bed all day, and the only time that’s happened before was when he was literally dying of the heart virus.”

Vegeta nodded curtly, his eyes drifting back down to the ground the second she was done talking. But her gaze lingered on him, and after a few seconds of hesitation she spoke one more time. 

“Me and Bulma, we had to stop him from coming straight to you and apologizing when he realized what he’d done to set you off. He’s blaming himself and he’s ready to throw himself at your feet and do whatever he can to fix all of this, so when you _do_ see him next… don’t you dare take advantage of him and let him take the blame. He didn’t deserve any of this and you know it. Swallow your damn pride for once and do the right thing.”

And with that, she turned and walked back to her son. Vegeta watched in silence, his eyes not leaving the pair as Goten held his mother and took off into the sky. The little boy smiled and waved happily at Vegeta, and while Vegeta didn’t wave back, he felt the last little bit of ice in his heart shatter. 

He knew what he had to do. He was gonna hate every last fucking second of it but he had nobody to blame but himself. He didn’t deserve Kakarot’s forgiveness, he knew that full well, but he saw no other acceptable choice but to follow the woman’s advice. 

Doing it might break him but as Kakarot’s woman had so bluntly pointed out, he would break if he _didn’t_. Having so much of himself and his very soul wrapped up in someone else was exactly the sort of vulnerability he’d spent his entire life avoiding at all costs, and yet here he was with his heart wrapped up in not one but two people who could utterly crush him if the whim ever happened to strike. 

And that was when he fell to his knees on that cliff, the rocky ground splintering beneath him as he realized he had just equated Bulma and Kakarot in his thoughts for the first time. The most shocking thing about it, he realized with a breathless, humorless chuckle, was that it didn’t shock him at all. 

Oh, what a fool he had been. 

—

Later that night, Chi-Chi found herself sitting next to the large bathtub that Goku was currently sitting in, rinsing his hair of the shampoo she’d lathered into it before taking a washcloth to his chest and shoulders. He was quiet, arms wrapped loosely around his knees as he let her care for him, and it was a comfortable silence. She was just happy that he was out of bed at last and had agreed to the bath, though the fact that he was suddenly so docile and following her lead for once without argument was concerning in itself. 

But she enjoyed it all the same. She was a caretaker by nature and always had been, and when she wasn’t quite sure how best to tend to someone’s wounds, focusing on the basics were what she fell back on. A full belly and a nice warm bath could go a long way, and if she could help Goku feel even a little bit better then it would be more than worth the effort. 

What took her by surprise was the way that Goku eventually raised his red-rimmed eyes to hers and quietly murmured, “I’m sorry, Chi.”

She blinked in surprise, the washcloth in her hand pausing over his bicep. “What? You don’t have anything to be sorry for, Goku.”

“Yeah, I do,” he frowned, his eyes so sad that it broke her heart all over again. “I think this was all a mistake. I never should have tried to… tried to have more. I don’t need more. You’re all I need, Chi.”

As much as it warmed her from the inside out to hear those sweet words, she knew they probably weren’t completely true. Just as she’d told Vegeta earlier, their love was solid and they were happy together, but she’d be a fool to think that she could fulfill his darker, more primal desires in the same way that another Saiyan could. It was through no fault of either one of them - it was just reality, and while it might have stung in the past she’d made peace with it now. She just wanted her husband to be happy, and when he was happy so was she. 

“Oh, honey,” she said softly, setting the washcloth aside and placing her hand on his instead. “Don’t do that to yourself. You know that I love you more than anything. That’s why I was okay with this - because I’d do anything to make you happy.”

“But,” he grimaced, his hand clutching hers tightly, “you’re my wife and I’ve… I messed everything up, didn’t I?”

“No,” she reassured him, her free hand cupping his cheek. “Not at all. And you know me - I’d tell you if you did. I never mince my words.”

“No you don’t,” he chuckled sadly. 

“You want to know something?” she asked softly, watching him blink at her curiously. “Ever since this thing with you and Vegeta started, you’ve actually been _amazing_ to me. To our family. I don’t think you realize it but you’ve been more attentive and present than you have since… probably when Gohan was a baby.”

Goku’s brows furrowed. “I have?”

She nodded with a small smile. “You haven’t even tried to leave us for months at a time like you usually do. For once, you actually seemed kind of… settled. At least as much as you can be, I think.”

“But…”

“It’s okay, Goku,” she said softly, hushing what were sure to be guilt-tinged words. “It’s okay to be in love with him. I love him too, just not the way that you do.”

“But he doesn’t love me,” Goku replied sadly. “I think he just liked the sex. Being able to let go and be rough. There were times when he’d look at me and I thought _maybe_ he felt something, but… must have just been seeing what I wanted to see.”

“You know, Goku, it took _years_ for him to tell Bulma that he loved her,” Chi-Chi pointed out. “And even Trunks when he was little - Vegeta thought showing affection meant staring at him with that creepy scowl on his face and throwing punches at him. He’s not like you. You’re so open and honest and he’s… not.”

“I know,” Goku sighed. “I never should have pushed him like that. I can’t believe I was so _stupid_.”

“That’s not what I meant,” she pointed out. “What I’m saying is, loving him is always going to be complicated. It’ll never be easy. Just look at Bulma and everything she’s gone through to be with him - but it’s worked out. And I think it can for you, too.”

Goku eyed her warily. “I dunno, Chi.”

“I don’t either. But I have hope,” she smiled. “And no matter what, you’ll always have me.”

Goku smiled and leaned towards her, wrapping wet arms around her and pulling her in for a tight hug over the rim of the tub. “I love you so much,” he whispered in her ear, bringing a blush to her cheeks. “I’m so lucky to have someone as amazing as you.”

“Don’t you forget it,” she replied cheekily as she returned his embrace. “And I love you too, Goku.”

She didn’t know how this was all going to turn out and there was a distinct chance that it could get worse before it got better, but she would choose to have faith in the meantime. She’d seen far greater miracles in her lifetime, after all, and things that she’d once deemed impossible had a tendency of proving her wrong over time. Whatever would come next, she’d be by Goku’s side no matter what, just as she promised, because it was where she would always belong. And it was where, despite it all, she would always be at her happiest. 

She just hoped that Vegeta got his act together before her whole head of hair went gray from the stress of it all. 

—

_One week later_

Slowly and with no small amount of willpower, Goku found the strength to get out of bed and stop moping and start getting back to his normal life. His heart still felt heavy as hell and he was eating more than he ever had in his entire life, but the fields needed tending to and Goten wanted to train and he couldn’t keep hiding in bed forever. Determined to get back on his own two feet, Goku put on a brave face and pushed through the urges to give into his melancholy and instead got back to work. And to his surprise, it worked wonders for his state of mind. 

Seven days after what his brain had taken to calling _the bad day_ , Goku and Goten were eating lunch together in the fields under the hot sun, tractor parked next to them and giving them something to sit back against as they devoured the food that Chi-Chi had packed for them. Goku had taken off his jacket and scarf and was down to his blank tank top and light tan pants, and Goten was splashing the contents of a water bottle on himself and giggling as he did so. Goku found Goten’s natural cheery demeanor and innocence - so much like his own - to be a balm to his nerves and his heart, and he found it hard to drown in sadness when in the company of his youngest son. He only wished that he hadn’t missed so much of Goten’s life - as interesting and challenging as Otherworld had been, it could have never been a replacement for holding his son as a baby and watching him grow. 

But he couldn’t change that. He could only make the best of what he had now, and that was what he intended to do. And as more days passed with no contact from Vegeta, he was losing more and more hope that the older Saiyan would play a role in any of it. 

Every time he thought about a life without Vegeta, it felt like his heart was shattering into pieces all over again. It was almost impossible to imagine, despite the years he’d spent away from him in the past. At least then he’d always known that he’d see Vegeta again someday, but this… this was different, and _scary_. 

Goku was lost in thought and stuffing food into his cheeks when Goten squeaked next to him and caught his attention. “Hey, who’s that?”

Goku looked at Goten and then followed his line of sight to a figure standing across the field, the bright sun making it hard to discern anything more than a vague shape. Goku shielded his vision with his hand and squinted, then immediately felt his heart drop into his stomach as that unmistakable flame-shaped hair came into focus. 

“Oh, it’s Vegeta!” Goten smiled, standing up and waving. “Hi, Vegeta!”

Goku stared in a terrified and excited stupor until his brain caught up with him. “Goten, do you think you could run on home?”

Goten’s smile shrunk into a frown as he looked up at his father in confusion. “Huh? Why?”

“I just… I need to talk to him, okay?” Goku replied softly, heart pounding in his chest. “Go home and see if your mom needs any help with dinner.”

It was nowhere near dinner time but Goten understood nonetheless and reluctantly nodded, flying off as Goku continued to stare at Vegeta’s unmoving figure. He might have thought that he was a mirage had Goten not seen him too. 

His entire body filled to the brim with anxiety and hope and utter dread, Goku felt a little lightheaded as he flew to meet Vegeta across the field. He couldn’t even begin to make sense of the mess of emotions within him and he didn’t care to, because the man he’d so desperately needed to see and talk to was _right there_ and he had come to him and _Kami please don’t let this end in disaster too._

He landed a safe distance away from Vegeta, close enough to have a conversation but far away enough to be out of his fist’s range. Not that Vegeta couldn’t close that distance in less time than it took to blink, but still. It felt right, so Goku didn’t question it. 

Vegeta was in his training uniform minus the armor, and he looked like he hadn’t slept all week. Goku felt weirdly pleased by that, and it didn’t feel right - he wasn’t one to take pleasure in anyone’s suffering, but this was different. He wanted to know that Vegeta had felt at least _something_ over this last week, and that Goku hadn’t been the only one to suffer. 

“Vegeta,” he said softly, meeting the older man’s tentative gaze. Vegeta looked as nervous as Goku felt. He opened his mouth to say something else, but no words came out. 

Vegeta’s arms were at his sides, fists balled up, and his eyes couldn’t seem to hold Goku’s for very long before they’d flit downward or to the side or literally anywhere else. Goku had never seen him so visibly uncomfortable. 

“Kakarot,” he finally muttered, his voice surprisingly hoarse. He cleared it, then breathed in through his mouth and closed his eyes as he sighed, “I don’t know how to do this. I never have.”

“Do what?” Goku asked, on the proverbial edge of his seat and feeling like he just might explode any second. 

“Just… shut up and stand there,” Vegeta muttered, and for once, Goku actually listened and kept his mouth shut. Nearly an entire minute went by before Vegeta took a deep breath and forced himself to speak again. He looked Goku in the eyes and said, “I… hurt you. I snapped and lost control and…” he swallowed and looked down. “I’m ashamed of what I did. And I am… I’m sorry.”

Goku stared in surprise and no small amount of awe. When had he ever heard Vegeta apologize for _anything_ , ever? This was the first time, he realized, and it left him speechless. 

“As Saiyans, we have a natural tendency to speak with our fists,” Vegeta added, eyes managing to meet Goku’s again. “But I crossed a line that should never be crossed. I know better - my father taught me better, before he died. I dishonored him. I have no right to ask for your forgiveness.”

Then Vegeta slowly began stepping closer, so slow that it almost seemed like his boots were like anchors weighing him down. He stopped only when he was inches before Goku, and then he shocked Goku all over again by dropping down to his knees and muttering, “But I’m asking for it anyway.”

And there Goku stood, staring wide-eyed at Vegeta as he knelt before him with his head bent low, the proudest man that Goku had ever known humbling himself to ask for his forgiveness. Goku’s mouth hung open uselessly, his hands rising and hovering in the air as he struggled to figure out what the hell to do, but it wasn’t long before his instincts kicked in and steered him right. He knelt down too, bringing them both back to eye level, and he watched Vegeta look up at him in surprise. 

“Vegeta,” he said softly, “what hurt the most wasn’t your fists.”

Vegeta looked away again, shame overtaking his features. They were so close now, too close, and yet Goku had never felt further away from him. 

“I don’t need you to say you love me or anything like that,” Goku added. “I know you and how hard that kind of stuff is for you. I don’t mind it if I never hear it back. But I can’t pretend that I didn’t mean what I said. It came out like that because it’s just…” he paused, shaking his head. “It’s just that normal for me. I didn’t think twice. And I’m sorry that I did that - I should have known better, I should have -“

“You did nothing wrong,” Vegeta interrupted him sharply, finally meeting his gaze again. “Nothing, Kakarot.”

Goku knew that to be true on a theoretical level, but his heart seemed to keep missing the memo. “Still,” he shrugged softly. 

“No,” Vegeta insisted fiercely but quietly. “You will apologize for nothing.”

Goku smiled gently. “We both got ourselves into this mess, Vegeta.”

“Dammit, Kakarot, would you stop that?” Vegeta growled, face reddening. “This is hard enough for me to do without you trying to take responsibility for my mistakes.”

“Okay, sorry,” Goku relented. 

Vegeta grimaced and clenched his fists, staring at the ground. “I am sorry for what I said. I meant none of it. I panicked and it all happened so fast, I… it felt like I was watching from the outside.” He shuddered. “It was horrible.”

“Yeah it was,” Goku agreed with a frown. “You really mean that? You’re really sorry?”

Vegeta’s eyes snapped up to his and he growled, “Do you think I would be doing this if I didn’t mean it?! Look at me, Kakarot, I’m _on my knees_ asking for forgiveness! I haven’t done this since after Majin Buu, with the woman!”

Goku probably shouldn’t have been so surprised to hear that, but he was nonetheless. It made it abundantly and undeniably clear how truly serious and real this was for Vegeta, and it was so much more than Goku had allowed himself to hope for over the last week. 

“Of course I forgive you, Vegeta,” Goku whispered, his eyes shining as he reached out to touch Vegeta’s face. “I probably would have even if you’d never asked.”

Vegeta blinked, almost flinching at the touch first before catching himself and relaxing into it. Goku watched as Vegeta’s eyes closed and he felt his heart flip flop in his chest at the sight, his entire soul suddenly overcome with the purest of love for the man kneeling before him. He stroked his cheek with his thumb and when it became too much for Vegeta, he reached a gloved hand up to gently pry his hand away. 

Goku responded by pulling Vegeta into a bone-crushingly tight hug. Vegeta’s arms hung at his sides at first and Goku didn’t even care - just having him in his arms again was all that he needed to feel like he was on cloud nine. But when he felt those gloved hands slowly reach up to return the embrace, Goku very nearly burst into tears of happiness. 

When he eventually pulled away to smile at Vegeta, their eyes met and he didn’t know who moved first but the kiss that they soon found themselves locked in was the single most healing touch he’d felt in a long, long time. It was simple and sweet, no lust or hunger behind it but rather honest affection, and it was beautiful. It was the first kiss of its kind that they’d ever shared, and this time Goku really _did_ shed a few tears of happiness. 

Vegeta pulled away when he felt one fall on his cheek, concern in his eyes as he reached up and wiped them away from Goku’s face. “Good tears,” Goku confessed with a chuckle, a little embarrassed but too happy to really care. 

“You’re a fool,” Vegeta murmured, but there was no malice or ridicule to his words. “You should want nothing to do with me.”

Goku shrugged, taking Vegeta’s hand in his and intertwining their fingers when he didn’t protest. “We don’t choose who we love, do we?”

Vegeta paused, looking down at their hands silently for a moment. “No, we don’t.” Then he squeezed Goku’s hand softly, and Goku _almost_ gasped. Vegeta looked up at him meaningfully, and he knew then without a doubt that it was his way of returning the sentiment without saying the words. And it was enough. It was more than enough. 

Goku pulled him in for another kiss, and this one lasted longer than the last and didn’t stay quite as innocent. Vegeta was more relaxed and open with this one, reaching up to sink his hand into Goku’s hair as they inched closer to each other in the grass. Goku was the first to let his tongue slip in, Vegeta gasping softly at the contact before returning it with the sort of passion that came utterly effortlessly for them. 

It wasn’t long before Vegeta was in his lap, Goku’s hands on his hips as their kisses grew deeper and wilder, and it would have been so damn easy to give in and let the heat between them bloom into undoubtedly mind-blowing sex right there in the middle of the field, but something that Goku didn’t even know he had in him made him hit the breaks and pull away with a shaky breath. 

“Fuck,” he sighed, the word bringing a deeper blush to Vegeta’s cheeks that he had to force himself to not kiss off. Then he looked up at Vegeta and smiled, leaning in and nuzzling Vegeta’s jaw as he murmured, “I can’t do this yet. I need time, Vegeta.”

Fingers playing absently with the hair at the nape of Goku’s neck, Vegeta took a centering breath. “I understand.”

“I want to. I _really_ want to,” Goku admitted. “But I shouldn’t.”

“Probably not,” Vegeta agreed, hand wandering lower to rub at Goku’s upper back. 

Goku pulled back to smile up at him. “But you’ll wait for me, right?”

Vegeta smirked back. “I believe it’s the least I can do, Kakarot.”

Goku smiled warmly, and they kissed once more. The broken pieces of his heart weren’t quite stitched back together, but for the first time in the last week he had hope that in time they would be. He held Vegeta close and relished in the sweet, comforting moment, and in the way that Vegeta let it happen and didn’t fight him. It was such a rare unguarded moment between the two men, and if there were more like these to come - maybe even _better_ ones - then maybe it had all been worth it after all. 

He just loved Vegeta _so damn much._ He had to be careful and do this the right way, because deep down he knew that he’d do _anything_ to hold him like this. And for a man like Goku, _anything_ covered a whole hell of a lot of things he shouldn’t do. 

But he had faith that they’d find their way. Finally, he was starting to feel some of that hope that Chi-Chi had been talking about. 

And it felt damn good. 

  
  
  



	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I??? Finished???? A multi chapter fic???? This is... a rare occurrence for me, and holy crap I can’t thank each and every one of you guys enough for reading and sticking with me through this!! When I look back on the earlier chapters it was kinda painfully clear I hadn’t seen Super (and still some of DBZ, I think) yet and I was finding my legs when it came to these characters, but you all stuck with me anyway and were so welcoming and supportive and I just 🥺🥺🥺 thank you so, so SO much to everyone who commented, left kudos, and/or followed along silently - I hope this last chapter was worth the wait! Feel free to send along any ideas for sequels or future one shots that could tie in here, because God knows I can never show the least bit of self restraint 😂 thank you all again and I’ll see you soon!!

Over the next few months, things slowly went back to normal - or rather, a new version of normal. 

Vegeta respected Goku’s request for time and space, but it didn’t mean that they never saw each other. To the contrary, they began slowly easing back into their sparring habits with each other, first once a week and then eventually three or more. Bulma invited Goku & the family over for dinner fairly frequently as well, and while it was hardly easy for the two men to see each other at such regular intervals and not claw each other’s clothes to shreds, it was a needed burden to bear for a little while. They needed to mend the foundation of their relationship, as peculiar and unconventional as it was, and they needed to maintain clear heads while they did so. 

But  _ damn _ it was hard. 

Their wives didn’t mind, however, as it meant that they bore the very pleasant brunt of their frustrations. Every time each man came away from sparring together, dripping with sweat and full of pent up sexual energy, they’d release the tension with their women and leave them unable to walk properly for days. 

And when the two families had dinner at Capsule Corp, Bulma and Chi-Chi would make sure to sit next to each other so that they could chat under their breaths whenever Goku and Vegeta did something to make them giggle. 

One night, it was the last dinner roll that caused their latest silent giggle fit. Both men reached for it at the same time and brushed their fingers together, causing both to blush like mad and look at each other like two teenagers deep in the tumultuous throes of their first crushes. 

“Sorry,” Goku chuckled, yanking his hand back way too quickly. “You can have it.”

“No, it’s fine,” Vegeta shrugged, face aflame as he forced his eyes back down to his own plate. “You take it.”

“Nah, I’ve had enough,” Goku shrugged. “Really, go on. I want you to have it.”

Flustered, Vegeta eyed the roll like it was a ticking time bomb. “Don’t be ridiculous, Kakarot, I told you to take it, so take it.”

Goku waved him off. “No thanks, it’s all yours.”

Vegeta scowled at him far more viciously than a mere piece of bread called for, and Bulma barely suppressed a bubble of laughter as she leaned over to Chi-Chi and whispered, “Kami, I think they’re finally starting to crack.”

“I sure hope so,” Chi-Chi whispered back. “My hips can’t take much more before  _ they _ start to crack.”

What either woman failed to notice were their sons also watching the odd exchange between their fathers and the way that their eyes curiously roved back and forth between them while silently stuffing their faces. They also didn’t notice when Goten’s gaze moved to the bread roll in question, nor when he snatched it and presented it to Trunks like some kind of prized gift. 

Trunks blinked and stared at the offered item, then plucked it from Goten’s hand with a quiet, “Uh… thanks?”

Goten beamed happily and resumed devouring his own meal, and Trunks blushed faintly as he ate the apparently highly covetable piece of bread. 

In any case, despite the mounting tension, Goku and Vegeta kept their desires in check as best they could and dealt with the consequences as they came. Vegeta in particular was dead set on not laying so much as a finger on Kakarot outside of sparring, determined for Kakarot to be the one to make the first move and signal that he was ready for more. Bulma supported him wholeheartedly but doubled up on birth control in the meanwhile, not really wanting a third child but knowing she’d end up with one if the stalemate between the two Saiyans went on for much longer. 

Two and a half months passed before Goku finally began to reach the end of his rope. It was late in the day and the sun hung low in the sky as he and Vegeta traded blows in the wilderness, both of them growing tired after several hours of nonstop sparring but not ready to give up quite yet. The fire that had fueled their fight hadn’t vanished but rather changed, as it always did, into a different kind of heat that punches and kicks couldn’t sate. It was torture to have Vegeta so close, to have his scent surrounding him and their bodies in constant contact but not be able to touch him and have him the way that he really wanted. 

_ But he could, _ a voice whispered sweetly in the back of Goku’s mind as he wrestled the other man to the ground, pinning him there and panting into the negligible space between them. One word from Goku and Vegeta would welcome him back into his body with open arms, he knew damn well, and yet… 

Vegeta stared up at him, heavy lidded and bruised and hard as hell in his pants just from the spar, and Goku stared back until he couldn’t take it anymore. He dropped his head down and inhaled the other man in, just the tip of his nose dragging along the curve of Vegeta’s neck, and he could both hear and  _ feel _ the way Vegeta began breathing harder in response. 

Goku dragged his nose along his throat, finding his pulse and licking over it hotly. Vegeta gasped beneath him, struggling against Goku’s grip and shivering within it, his voice hoarse as he groaned, “ _ Kakarot… _ ”

Goku raised his head slowly, lips dragging up his throat and over his jaw until their mouths nearly touched. Goku gazed down at him through hooded eyes, his entire body tense with desire that he wouldn’t allow himself to give into just yet, though his reasons for it were becoming more and more blurry. 

He closed his eyes and nuzzled Vegeta’s cheek. “I want you so bad, ‘Geta…”

“Bastard,” Vegeta gritted out, trembling now where he laid trapped between Goku’s body and the rocky earth. “You’re a damn tease.”

“I don’t mean to be,” Kakarot grinned, laying a gentle kiss at the corner of Vegeta’s mouth. Their eyes opened and locked while Kakarot freed one of Vegeta’s wrists so that he could slip his fingers into his hair instead. “Kami, I miss being inside you.”

Vegeta moaned out loud at that, his voice betraying him before he could keep the sound inside. He fisted the front of Goku’s now-tattered gi and hissed, “Then get inside me, Kakarot.”

Touching their foreheads together, Kakarot shook his head even as his breath came harder. “Not yet.”

Vegeta’s grip tightened. “You’re a fucking masochist, aren’t you?”

“Maybe,” Goku mused, tilting his head down so that their lips brushed. What happened next wasn’t quite a kiss, more of a breathy, desperate drinking in of each other through softly touching lips, and it was maddening and frustrating and somehow Goku enjoyed the pain of it all. 

“Do you want me to beg?” Vegeta asked against Goku’s mouth, his voice utterly wrecked and pupils blown and chest heaving. “Because I will, if it will put an end to this torment.”

Goku grinned. “Can’t hurt.” Vegeta opened his mouth to protest, but Goku kissed him hard on the lips and silenced him. It was their first real kiss since the day they’d reconciled, and it was pure fire. 

Nothing else in the universe existed in that moment except for the two of them and the heat they shared, and the way their hearts soared as they poured everything they had into the kiss. It was deep and a little sloppy and absolutely perfect, and Goku felt drunk on the taste of Vegeta’s mouth. He wanted to dive in and never come out, wanted to kiss him until neither of them could breathe and then rip their clothes off and fuck him into the ground right there, but still something held him back. He couldn’t remember what it was anymore but the last little bit of self control he still had kept him from giving in and forced him to wrench away just before he would have reached the point of no return. 

“Fuck,” he panted, opening his eyes only to look down and nearly come undone at the sight of Vegeta underneath him. Desperation was written on every inch of his face, and even during their most passionate nights of sex, Goku had never seen him quite  _ that _ far gone. Vegeta wasn’t hiding anymore, wasn’t bothering to hide how much he wanted him for once, and  _ fuck _ he was beautiful like that. 

“Kakarot,” Vegeta whispered, sounding as pained as he was aroused. “ _ Kakarot, please _ .”

Goku let out a shaky sigh and leaned down, his nose brushing Vegeta’s. “I’m sorry, Vegeta.”

“For what?”

“Just… give me a little more time, okay? I’m almost there, I just…” He smiled softly, and to Vegeta’s credit, he didn’t become angry or whine or otherwise protest. Instead he took a deep, uneven breath and closed his eyes for a moment before opening them back up and nodding at Goku. Goku’s smile grew and he placed one last kiss on Vegeta’s lips, followed by a whispered, “Thank you.”

Then he pressed two fingertips to his forehead and vanished. Vegeta groaned and sunk into the ground beneath him in utter agony, reminding himself that he deserved no less for how he’d hurt the younger man. Goku, meanwhile, instant transmissioned directly into his bathroom back at home and took refuge under a cold shower, giving his poor wife a break from his raging appetites and wondering if, at this point, he was just torturing both himself and Vegeta for no real reason. 

Then again, when it came to matters of the heart, Goku had finally learned that moving too slow was better than moving too fast. He would continue to trust his instincts to guide him - they’d never failed him yet, after all. 

—

About a week later, Bulma called Chi-Chi to invite the family over to a birthday party that she was throwing in Vegeta’s honor in two weeks. The second Goku caught wind of the occasion, he immediately panicked and began pacing around fretting over what kind of gift to get Vegeta. Chi-Chi tried to remind him that he’d never specifically gotten anything for Vegeta before and that she would pick a gift from the whole family - likely something edible or something to aid his endless training - but Goku waved her off and insisted that wasn’t good enough. 

But what the hell to actually get the man? Vegeta wanted for nothing, after all, being married to the world’s richest woman, and his tastes were far from extravagant anyway. He didn’t enjoy excess when it came to anything but food, preferring a more minimalist approach to life and spurning frivolous things, and Goku appreciated that and shared some of that perspective - but it made for figuring out a gift all the more challenging. Besides, he’d asked Vegeta once what he’d want if he could have anything of his choosing in the whole universe, and he’d reluctantly admitted to wanting his tail back. But Goku couldn’t take a trip into town and buy one of those, could he? 

Then his pacing came to an abrupt stop. His eyes widened and he gasped as the most perfect, utterly brilliant idea sprang to mind. He grinned excitedly and then instant transmissioned straight to Bulma, who was working in her lab and so used to his intrusions by that point that she didn’t even flinch at his sudden appearance. 

“Hey, Goku,” she greeted without looking away from the computer she was tapping away on. “If you’re looking for Vegeta he’s in the -“

“I need the dragon radar!” Goku exclaimed at a much higher volume than necessary, which led to Bulma jumping in surprise and spinning around in her chair to glare at him. “Sorry, sorry! I didn’t mean to yell, I’m just excited!” He dropped his voice into an exaggerated whisper and put his hands together. “Can I please borrow the dragon radar, Bulma?”

She sighed and crossed her arms. “I don’t know, that depends - you’re not gonna resurrect anymore supervillains, are you?”

“Nope!” Goku smiled. “This time it’s for Vegeta.”

She paused, raising a brow. “For Vegeta? What is it?”

“It’s a surprise for his birthday!”

“... Okay, that’s not what I expected, but he’s my husband, Goku - and sometimes you have really weird ideas so I kind of need to know what you’re up to before I give you the radar.”

“Fine,” Goku relented, “but you have to promise me you won’t tell him anything. Or Trunks - nobody can know, okay? I don’t want to risk him finding out.”

“Wow, you’re really serious about this,” Bulma grinned, eyes widening in curiosity. “Okay, I won’t tell anyone. Your secret’s safe with me, now spill.”

Goku grinned back and told her his grand plan. The dragon radar was in his hands within mere minutes, and before 24 hours had gone by, all seven dragon balls were in his possession and safe at Mt. Paozu. 

Now all he had to do was wait. 

—

_ Two weeks later, Vegeta’s birthday  _

He’d told the woman multiple times over multiple days  _ not _ to throw one of her insufferable parties on his behalf. He’d been nothing if not clear from the beginning how much he reviled the events and would have rather spent an entire week watching compilations of Mr. Satan’s old fights than endure a single night of merriment in his name. But did she listen?  _ Of course not _ . When had she ever done that? 

And so now here he sat in the utterly dreadful seat of honor in a canopy outside of Capsule Corp, arms crossed and scowl even more severe than usual, as nearly every single person they knew surrounded him and raised their glasses while shouting  _ happy birthday  _ in unison. It was an absolute nightmare, and he wasn’t kidding when he said that literally everybody they knew was there. Even Beerus and Whis had shown up, though of course all it took to earn their presence was the promise of free food. 

Vegeta clutched his own flute of champagne angrily, growling under his breath as he scanned the faces spread out before him. Kakarot and his family were front and center along with Bulma and the children, her parents just behind her and jolly as ever. Then there were the usual suspects - Yamcha, Puar, Tien, Chiaotzu, Krillin, 18, Roshi, Oolong - and then there were the slightly less expected ones, at least to Vegeta. Dende and Piccolo were standing with Gohan and his wife and their brat, Mr. Satan and Buu behind them, and for some ungodly reason even Jaco and Bulma’s elusive sister Tights were present. 

Strangest of all, Vegeta noted, was the presence of Android 17 and  _ his _ wife and children. Why had all of these people come all the way out here to celebrate his birthday of all days, when Vegeta knew damn well that most of them only tolerated him because his immense power made him a valuable ally?

His thoughts were immediately and effectively smashed into pieces when Goten broke from the crowd and came barreling into him, spilling the champagne in his hand as the boy threw his arms around him and exclaimed, “Happy birthday, Mr. Vegeta!”

Vegeta stiffened and opened his mouth with the intent to tell the child to get the hell off of him but then Bulla came literally flying into his face, wrapping her little arms around his neck and squeaking, “Happy birthday, Daddy! I love you!”

As if that wasn’t bad enough, as Vegeta sat there besieged and blushing, Pan flew into the melee next and latched on to his arm, babbling some kind of toddler nonsense that sounded suspiciously close to  _ uncle _ . Vegeta was this close to throwing each child off of him with a mighty roar when Trunks and Marron jumped in next, and before he knew it he was under a literal pile of children intent on showing their unconditional love for him. 

It was disgusting. Revolting, really. Utterly beneath a man of his station, and yet he endured it solely for the sake of not upsetting the children or Bulma as she stood there visibly melting over the scene. He most definitely did  _ not _ endure the lovefest because it actually felt kind of nice and he absolutely did  _ not _ secretly enjoy every last second of it. 

He also most certainly did not glance up at Kakarot and find both him and Chi-Chi watching with undeniable love and joy in their eyes, and it went without saying that he didn’t blush and look away like some kind of emotionally compromised buffoon. 

_ Hmph _ . 

Eventually he shook the children off - literally, tossing each one at a time into the crowd and into the arms of a parent, which the children seemed to find enormously fun - save for Bulla, whom he carried and allowed to cling to him as he stalked off towards the buffet table. If he had to endure this nonsense then he was going to endure it whilst stuffing his face full of all the best food available before Buu or the deities could snatch it all first. 

As he piled his plate high with gourmet goodies, Bulla began pushing and pulling at his face and giggling until he snapped his gaze to hers and asked, “Eschalotte, what are you doing?”

“Making you smile!” she replied happily, stretching his lips into a shape vaguely resembling a smile. “You should smile more, Daddy - aren’t you happy?”

His heartstrings tugged by her sweet little voice and innocent words, Vegeta glanced around and turned in a way to ensure that nobody but her could see his face as he pulled her small hands away and leaned in closer to her. “Of course I’m happy, silly girl,” he grinned, letting the stoic mask he wore like a second skin slip just for her as he allowed himself to smile without inhibition. “I have  _ you _ \- how could I not be?”

Her little face, so much like her mother’s, lit up in a way that warmed his soul like little else could. His children could cut through every last layer of his armor and take down his iron walls with next to no effort, their love and innocence unrivaled to anything he’d ever experienced before. He would burn whole universes to the ground before he’d see either one of them hurt, and Bulla - his  _ Eschalotte _ \- had a hold on his heart that would have petrified the man he’d once been. Back then he’d have seen it as a weakness - and he had, to his regret, when Trunks had been a baby - but now he saw it for the vast well of strength that it was. 

The little girl rubbed her nose back and forth against his, a gesture she’d picked up from Bulma’s mother as a baby, and Vegeta let his smile linger as he returned the touch. The moment was quiet and perfect until it was all ruined by what felt like a tiny missile slamming into the center of his back. 

“Pan! Ugh, sorry Vegeta!” Gohan waved as he chased after the girl. “Pan, we don’t fly into people on purpose!”

Bulla squeaked in joy and took off once she spotted Pan flying off, flying after her and wanting to join in the game. Vegeta snorted and resumed stacking his plate, but any hope of having any sort of privacy with his food died when he heard a cheerful, “Hey, ‘Geta!”

Swallowing down a sudden pang of anxiety, Vegeta told himself that he was being ridiculous and shot back without looking over his shoulder, “What do you want, clown?”

Planting himself at Vegeta’s side, Kakarot smiled and grabbed his own plate. “Well, food, but also you.” Vegeta stiffened at the words, and Kakarot noticed and chuckled, “Not like that! Well, I mean, not  _ not _ like that, because obviously I do want you like that too, but I didn’t mean -“

“Shut up, you idiot!” Vegeta hissed, eyes darting around them. “Someone might hear you!”

“Sorry,” Kakarot smiled sheepishly, though he fell silent for a moment. “... Would that really be so bad, though?”

Vegeta’s head snapped up, incredulous. “What?”

Kakarot shrugged. “I mean, I don’t care who knows. About us. I understand if you do, but -“

“I’m not talking about this right now,” Vegeta grumbled, turning to walk off towards the table that Bulma and the deities were sat at when Kakarot grabbed his arm and stopped him. 

“Wait!” 

Vegeta growled and glared at him, shaking his hand off. “What do you  _ want _ ?”

Kakarot rubbed the back of his neck. “Uh, so, I got you a present but it’s - it can’t be wrapped, so it’s not over there,” he gestured to a table full of gifts that Vegeta could not have cared less about. 

Vegeta stared at him blankly. “I don’t even want any damn gifts. You should have saved your money.”

“Oh, well, it actually didn’t cost me any money, so -“

“My food is getting cold,” Vegeta replied, bored, before walking away. Kakarot let out a nervous sigh, and Vegeta strolled to his wife’s side and began digging into the food without another thought towards the conversation. 

At least until Kakarot plopped down in the chair next to his and flashed Vegeta a nonchalant smile before starting to inhale his food. Vegeta narrowed his eyes slightly but then ignored him, focusing on his meal and listening partially to Bulma and Whis carry on a conversation about some harmless gossip coming out of universe 6. 

Vegeta was  _ almost _ climbing his way back to being in a good mood when a gentle kick to his ankle from Kakarot’s boot made him look to the younger Saiyan in confusion. But Kakarot merely smiled at him  _ shyly _ , flushing a little before casting his eyes back down to his plate. Vegeta stared at him blankly, feeling like he was missing something because he didn’t understand what Kakarot was getting at. Then he decided that he didn’t care and resumed eating. 

And then, a mere moment later, Kakarot’s hand disappeared under the table discreetly and landed on Vegeta’s knee. 

Vegeta froze mid-chew, slowly turning his head and glaring at Kakarot with fury in his eyes. But Kakarot only smiled and bit his lower lip as he slid his palm onwards and then, incredibly slowly, upwards. 

He was going to  _ kill _ Kakarot. Teasing him like this, in front of all of their friends and family, when they’d neither touched nor fucked for nearly three months? He understood Kakarot’s need for space - he’d needed it too, after all, and time to get his head back on straight - but at what point did it become cruel to tease him like this? Surely that line was already crossed, and yet Kakarot was utterly shameless as he felt Vegeta up under the table. 

_ Stop _ , Vegeta mouthed as subtly as possible - which was not very much.  _ I will kill you _ . 

Kakarot grinned and let his fingers roam Vegeta’s clothed inner thigh, brushing dangerously higher with each pass of his hand. Vegeta gritted his teeth and smacked his hand down over Kakarot’s to stop him, trying to be quiet and inconspicuous about it, but then Kakarot threw him for another loop by intertwining their fingers together and just holding his hand under the fucking table instead. And that might have been even worse, Vegeta thought. 

Meanwhile, under the table, Trunks and Goten were gobbling down a tray of small cakes that they’d stolen from the dessert table. They were also watching their fathers’ odd antics, Trunks covering Goten’s eyes when Goku’s hand started to get more bold but relenting and letting Goten see again after it just became a seemingly innocent mutual holding of hands. 

Then, to Trunks’ mild horror, Bulma slipped her foot out of her low-heeled shoe and started using it to toy with Vegeta’s leg. Trunks made a face and turned so that he was no longer facing them, muttering, “Ugh, they’re so embarrassing.”

“And weird,” Goten agreed, though he kept watching the weirdness anyway. 

And all the while, Vegeta was barely suppressing the urge to scream. Between Kakarot and Bulma, he was going to lose his damn mind. Didn’t they know he didn’t appreciate sneaky tactics like this? Playing footsie under the table and  _ holding his hand _ \- ugh, it was unbearable. Why couldn’t they just leave him alone and let him enjoy his damn birthday meal in peace? 

Finally, he shoved Kakarot’s hand away and gently kicked Bulma’s foot back to where it belonged. He then resumed stuffing his face and pointedly ignored both Kakarot and Bulma as they each smiled at him softly, both wearing the exact same dopey, loving expressions. 

It was terrible. Pure hell, in fact. Utter torment. Couldn’t possibly get any worse. 

But even Vegeta wasn’t buying his own bullshit anymore, and when both of his lovers’ gentle and innocent touches returned, he found himself relaxing in spite of it all. 

Damn her. Damn him. Damn them both. 

—

Several unbearably awful hours passed before Vegeta managed to slip away into the house under the guise of visiting the restroom, when mostly all he was doing was trying to get a blessed few moments alone. The house was empty and wonderfully silent, and he killed some time downing a bottle of water in the kitchen before reluctantly making his way to the bathroom he’d supposedly come in for. 

He was heading down the hallway when two deep, hushed voices from within a guest room caught his attention. He came to a halt and narrowed his eyes, stopping outside the closed door and listening with a distinct hunch already as to who it was. 

“... C’mon, pretty boy, give me that wolf fang fist.”

A chuckle, then a gasp. “I would, but -  _ fuck _ \- I’ve got some…  _ mm _ … some meat that needs some Tien-derizing first…”

Making a face and growling under his breath, Vegeta slammed his fist on the door and shouted, “Stop having sex in my house, you fucking freaks!”

The high-pitched yelp of shock that came next through the door clearly belonged to Yamcha. “Sorry, Vegeta! It won’t happen again!”

Vegeta growled again and started marching back to the bathroom, wondering why something horrible seemed to be awaiting him around every corner. Next year he’d make sure that Bulma wouldn’t throw him a blasted party, even if it meant whisking her and the children off on a vacation to some part of the world he didn’t care to see. He wasn’t much for vacations but at least it would be better than  _ this _ . 

After he wasted as much time as he possibly could, Vegeta reluctantly began to head back towards the party. He eyed the gravity room with desperate longing in his eyes but kept walking, knowing he’d never hear the end of it from the woman if he disappeared into the room for the remainder of the party. 

And then, when he left the hallway and entered back into the kitchen, he found Bulma and Chi-Chi standing there and whispering amongst themselves until they noticed his presence and plastered smiles on their faces. 

“Hi, honey!” Bulma chirped happily. 

Vegeta narrowed his eyes. “What are you women up to?”

“Up to? Oh, nothing!” Bulma laughed. 

Vegeta raised a brow but ultimately shrugged and moved to walk past them. “Whatever. I don’t care.”

“Wait!” Bulma exclaimed, pushing him back with her hands on his chest. “We need your… help with something.”

“Right,” Chi-Chi nodded, visibly confused. “We need your… help.”

Vegeta’s glare shifted between the two women. “And what could I possibly help the two of you with right now, in the middle of this ridiculous party?”

“Um, well -“

Suddenly the lighting in the room grew considerably darker, and Vegeta’s eyes flew to the windows. The clouds had rapidly darkened in a way that could only mean one thing. “Has someone summoned the dragon?”

“Don’t be silly, of course not!” Chi-Chi laughed, clear panic in her eyes. 

“Yeah, definitely not!” Bulma echoed, blushing madly. “It’s just a storm.”

Vegeta groaned. “Out of my way, I want to see what’s going on.”

Chi-Chi narrowed her eyes and stepped in front of him, holding out her arms to block him, and Vegeta stopped and stared at her in utter bewilderment until Bulma stepped in front of  _ her  _ and, to Vegeta’s shock, sighed and ripped open her shirt to expose her bare chest to him. 

“Woman!” Vegeta shouted, face on fire and expression scandalized. “What the hell are you doing?”

“What needs to be done,” Bulma replied seriously, advancing on him and shoving her ample breasts in his face. Chi-Chi’s arms slowly dropped and she watched with comically wide eyes as Bulma pushed Vegeta against the refrigerator, grabbing his face and pulling it to her chest as he screeched like a terrorized cat. 

“Have you lost your mind?!” he demanded, voice muffled against her soft flesh. “Kakarot’s woman is right there!”

Bulma looked at the window desperately, eyeing the sky and aggressively replying, “I don’t care! You’re not going anywhere!”

Convinced that the entire world had gone mad, Vegeta growled and managed to slip away from between her and the fridge, grabbing her shirt and pulling it back together. “I don’t know what’s come over you, woman, but I refuse to let you make a fool out of both of -“

He then froze mid sentence as the strangest sensation suddenly seized the base of his spine, right at his tailbone. It was tingly at first but quickly changed to concerningly heavy pressure, but the pressure only lasted one terrifying second before giving way and dissolving into nothing. 

Then, Bulma and Chi-Chi both staring at him, the sound of tearing fabric ripped through the kitchen. Vegeta’s eyes widened even more, his face paling as the source of the strange pressure and fashion trauma made itself known by curling up into the air between himself and Bulma. 

It was his tail, restored as if it had never been taken from him to begin with. He blinked at the furry brown appendage, mouth falling open as he gave it a few experimental waves and watched it respond perfectly. 

Bulma smiled. “It worked.”

His eyes flicked to hers and then to the window, where the sky appeared still-darkened, and that was when it all fell into place and clicked. 

Shenron. Kakarot’s babbling about a gift that couldn’t be wrapped. That conversation they’d had in bed months ago, when Vegeta had confessed under slight duress that the only thing he wanted that he didn’t already have was his tail. 

Kakarot had done this. He’d gathered the dragon balls and wished his tail back, and the women had been there to keep him distracted and inside the house while this happened. 

He reached for the tail with shaky hands and held it as if to confirm that it really was there, gazing at with eyes that were starting to shine from tears gathering there against his will. 

Bulma’s brows furrowed in concern. “Are you okay, Vegeta?”

He looked up at her, blinked, then looked to the door. His tail slipped from his hands and his expression grew dark and determined as he marched outside without a word. 

He reached the party just as Shenron disappeared and the dragon balls dispersed across the globe in a blinding flash of otherworldly light. He came to a standstill at the group’s edge, Kakarot turning around and smiling hugely the moment he saw Vegeta standing there presenting the evidence of his successful wish. 

“Hey, it worked!” Kakarot grinned, eyes fixed upon the tail in question. “Happy birthday, Vegeta!”

Bulma and Chi-Chi hurrying out behind him, Vegeta paid them no mind and continued staring down his rival. His watery eyes were unblinking, his chest rising and falling unevenly, and he was braced as if for battle. His fists were curled up at his sides and he was aware that the crowd was staring at him with a mixture of concern and fear, but not Kakarot. No, he was just smiling like the idiot that he was, clearly beyond satisfied with himself and his little  _ idea.  _

Vegeta wanted to punch him. He wanted to throw him down into the dirt and throttle him, wanted to pin him to the ground and scream at him and claw at him and touch him and bruise him and...

_ Everyone is watching _ , a little voice in his head reminded him, and for once Vegeta could not have cared less. 

“Do you like it?” Kakarot asked him excitedly, and it was the proverbial nail in Vegeta’s coffin. 

He took one step closer to Kakarot, then another, and one more. All the while he kept his eyes locked on to the younger man’s, and he didn’t look away even as he invaded his space and stood nose to nose with him in front of their entire families and everyone they knew. 

All around them, whispers began to fly about whether or not Vegeta was about to deck him. Chi-Chi watched and clutched Bulma’s arm worriedly, the women standing the closest to them, and Trunks and Goten were busy staring at Vegeta’s tail and wondering if they could get tails of their own wished into existence next. 

None of it mattered. For a moment, nothing else mattered to Vegeta except for Kakarot and the turning point that they were standing on the cusp of, the axis shift that he was about to initiate. Nothing would be the same after this, he knew, and that was the whole point. 

It was time to throw out the old and welcome in the new. 

He reached out and cradled Kakarot’s face between his hands. Kakarot’s eyes grew huge and his smile disappeared, and Vegeta couldn’t help but smirk just the tiniest bit before crashing their lips together and sparking the most exaggerated wave of gasps he’d ever heard outside of silly television shows. 

Bulma was utterly ecstatic. Chi-Chi’s hands were covering her mouth, but her own joy was evident in her eyes. The rest of the crowd was a different, albeit entertaining story. 

Trunks and Goten both gasped first, but soon the former twisted his face into a grossed-out expression while the latter stared owlishly. Gohan was red-faced and sputtering in confusion, Piccolo uncomfortable but unsurprised at his side, and Videl was watching with her jaw on the floor and head slowly tilting to one side. Tien and Yamcha were both genuinely shocked and blushing, mouths hanging open dumbly, Chiaotzu floating next to them and watching blankly. Master Roshi’s sunglasses fell off his face and cracked as they hit the ground, and Krillin was shocked and tomato-colored while 18, cool as a cucumber as always, merely smirked and took out her phone and hit  _ record _ . 

Dr. Briefs scratched his head and muttered something about young people being strangely affectionate these days, and Panchy giggled and clapped happily. Dende seemed more confused than anything, Mr. Satan even more so, and Jaco was also snapping pics of his own because, well, his reasons were his own. 

But out of everyone, Beerus appeared to be the most shocked and dumbfounded. By contrast, Whis at his side merely chuckled lightly and intoned, “ _ Oh my.” _

“Since when is  _ this _ a thing?” Beerus asked his attendant, not looking away from the two men as their arms wound around each other and their shameless kiss deepened. “Whis, did you know about this?”

“Oh, I had my suspicions,” Whis smiled. “Why else do you think I had them share a room during their training? I’m only surprised that it took this long.”

And Vegeta was oblivious to it all. His body was whole again, thanks to the imbecile that he was holding close and kissing with everything he had, and words weren’t enough to express what he felt - only actions could. He could feel Kakarot smiling into the kiss, and somehow it made him smile too. They broke apart with stupid grins on their faces, Kakarot’s expression one of sheer bliss, and Vegeta took great pride in having caused it. 

“Vegeta,” Kakarot whispered sweetly, shocked and happy and blushing, and Vegeta’s heart soared even higher. 

“Kakarot,” Vegeta murmured back, smirk etched firmly on his face. 

“Every… everyone’s watching,” Kakarot noted breathlessly. 

Vegeta glanced to his right, his smirk growing at the sight of the shock plastered on the small sea of faces. “So they are.”

Kakarot gazed at Vegeta like he held the whole universe in his hands, like he was everything he’d ever wanted and more. He licked his lips and glanced down at Vegeta’s tail, swishing contentedly behind him, and then he met Vegeta’s eyes with a watery smile. “I’m ready, Vegeta. Tonight.”

The words were whispered and only for Vegeta to hear, but they hit him like a lightning bolt nonetheless. “You’re sure?”

Kakarot nodded enthusiastically. “Oh yeah. I promise.” Then he swallowed hard and, as if he simply couldn’t hold the words back, murmured, “I love you, Vegeta.”

Vegeta didn’t say the words back, but he replied instead by grinning and pulling him in for another kiss. 

Chi-Chi was barely holding back tears, leaning her head on Bulma’s shoulder. “It all finally worked out. Look at them, they’re so happy.”

“They sure are,” Bulma agreed with a relieved sigh. 

Then both women squeaked in surprise as Vegeta’s tail shot out and wrapped around their arms, yanking them forward and into a group embrace with himself and Kakarot that shocked not only the women but also everyone watching. 

“How is this real?!” Krillin exclaimed, hands on his head. “Am I hallucinating?!”

“I think it’s sweet,” 18 grinned, still recording. “Besides, I always knew there was something between those two guys.”

Krillin turned to stare at her wide-eyed. “You did?!”

“Duh,” she shrugged. “You could cut the sexual tension between them with a knife.”

Meanwhile, Whis smiled at the rare public display of affection unfolding between the two married couples. “How adorable. Mortals and their strange passions.”

Beerus groaned and turned around. “Whatever, I’m bored now. I’ll be at the dessert bar.”

“Save some for me, my lord.”

Some feet away, Trunks was staring at his parents in confusion, wondering exactly what on earth was even happening at this point. But Goten, Trunks didn’t realize, was no longer looking at them - he was staring at Trunks. And thus Goten took him entirely by surprise when he leaned up and pressed a chaste, fleeting kiss to Trunks’ cheek. 

Trunks froze and then turned to look at Goten with wide eyes. Goten stared back and both boys blushed before looking away and staring at their feet, both children unaware that Bulma had seen it happen and was smiling at them softly. 

She’d had a feeling about those two, but they were so young - they had many, many years to figure it out. 

And when the impromptu group hug between the four spouses came to an end, Vegeta cleared his throat and squared his shoulders. Kakarot was gazing at him with a dopey puppy love sort of expression and Bulma was too, and Chi-Chi was legitimately crying happy tears at this point. Vegeta himself appeared rather pleased as he turned to face the crowd but, upon seeing their still-stunned faces, frowned and gave them his very best space-pirate scowl and roared, “And what the hell are all  _ you _ weaklings looking at?!”

“Watching the show,” 18 deadpanned with a grin, her phone still recording. “What else?”

“Oh, shut up, toaster woman.”

Reluctantly, Gohan piped up, “Uh, is there… did I miss something? Have I  _ been _ missing something?”

Piccolo shifted uncomfortably. “Obviously.”

“I think it’s just the sweetest thing!” Panchy cooed, nearly swooning. 

“Wow,” Yamcha remarked, “and here I thought me and Tien were the biggest secret around here.” He then froze and slapped his hands over his mouth while Tien groaned. 

“Oh please,” 18 rolled her eyes. “Everybody knows about you two.”

Vegeta laughed. “Don’t tell me they fucked in your house, too.”

“Twice,” 18 shrugged. “I don’t mind though, because we have cameras in every room, so I get to watch.”

“ _ What?!”  _ Yamcha and Tien shouted in unison. 

“There are lots of little ears here!” Chi-Chi spoke up indignantly. “Let’s keep the language clean, okay? And anyway, our private business is our private business. We should all get back to the party.”

“We never would have gotten in your business to begin with if those two hadn’t started sucking face in front of everyone!” Oolong yelled, pointing at Goku and Vegeta. 

“Oh, shut it, Porky!” Bulma screeched back. “It’s not our fault the only action you get is from Roshi’s old aerobics videos!”

“Hey, don’t disrespect the classics!” Roshi exclaimed, broken sunglasses perched back on his nose. 

Amid all the chaos, Kakarot nudged Vegeta’s side. “Hey, Geta.”

Vegeta looked up at him, a smirk instantly on his lips. “Yes, Kakarot?”

“Wanna sneak off to your room?” 

Vegeta’s grin darkened. “I thought you’d never ask.”

Kakarot grinned back and held out his hand. Vegeta didn’t hesitate to take it, and a fraction of a second later they were gone. 

—

The instant they materialized in Vegeta and Bulma’s room, they were on each other with all the pent-up desire of the last few months and then some. 

“You fool, you absolute fool,” Vegeta groaned in between heated, sloppy kisses, allowing Kakarot to slam him against the nearest wall as they groped and touched each other like they were starved. “To waste a wish on something so trivial…”

“You don’t seem to be complaining,” Kakarot noted with a grin, pulling away to tear off Vegeta’s shirt and then his own. Then they were kissing again, bare chest to chest, and just that sensation alone nearly did them both in. Then Kakarot paused and looked down when he felt the distinct sensation of something furry wrapping snugly around his waist. 

Vegeta smirked, the tip of his tail tickling at Kakarot’s ribs and making him shudder and giggle lightly. Then Kakarot surprised him by reaching down and gently taking the tip in his hand, running his palm and his fingers through the impossibly soft fur, his eyes flickering up when Vegeta purred deep in his chest and leaned his head back against the wall. 

“Like that?” Kakarot asked with a small grin, rocking his hips into Vegeta’s softly. They were both already hard and had been the second their lips touched. 

Vegeta replied by pulling Kakarot in for a hard, demanding kiss, groaning, “Don’t fucking tease me, Kakarot, it’s been entirely too long for that bullshit.”

“Well in that case,” Kakarot grinned before dropping to his knees, Vegeta’s tail slipping free as he did so, “how about I take the edge off for you?”

Vegeta watched as Kakarot made quick work of his pants, wasting no time in pulling his cock free and wrapping his big, rough hand around it and giving him a few long strokes. Then he glanced up at Vegeta and maintained eye contact as he leaned in and took him deep into his mouth, swallowing him whole with the sort of skill that their months apart clearly hadn’t put a damper on. Vegeta let out a strangled gasp that became a moan as his hand gripped the spikes of Kakarot’s hair, his tail curling and uncurling behind him as he lost himself in the heat of the younger man’s mouth. 

And even better than the pleasure itself was how evident Kakarot’s own enjoyment was. He moaned as he worked his mouth up and down Vegeta’s length, savoring it like he never had the patience to with his food, licking and sucking and making a mess of saliva and pre-come and relishing in it. “Mmm, fuck, you taste so good,” he groaned, pulling out to drag his tongue along the underside all the way back to the tip. “Missed this so much.” Then he took him back in, all the way to his throat, and Vegeta was hanging by a thread. His tail wound itself around Kakarot’s arm, both of his hands on Vegeta’s hips to hold him still, and Vegeta could only try his best to not come embarrassingly soon. 

After all, he’d woken up to a blowjob from his wife that very morning - it wasn’t like he wasn’t regularly satisfied. But it quickly became clear that none of that mattered when he looked down and met Kakarot’s hungry gaze once more, those dark bottomless pits of eyes staying hooked on his own even as he bobbed his head up and down and sucked  _ hard _ and  _ moaned _ and - 

Vegeta groaned Kakarot’s name as he came down his throat, self-control thrown to the wind and his body surrendering all too contentedly to his lover. His tail loosened from its death grip on Kakarot’s arm and relaxed along with every muscle in Vegeta’s body, and when he opened his eyes and looked down to watch Kakarot sit back on his heels and wipe his chin with a dirty little grin, Vegeta couldn’t help but smirk back. 

“Mm,” Kakarot hummed, catching a drop at the corner of his mouth and sucking it off of his thumb. “Delicious.”

“Am I,” Vegeta questioned lazily, feeling a bit like he was floating. 

Kakarot stood up and lifted Vegeta up into his arms, and Vegeta was in such an excellent mood he allowed it. “Course you are. Every inch of you.”

Vegeta’s grin widened. Kakarot would certainly know how every inch of him tasted, wouldn’t he? 

Kakarot laid him down on the bed Vegeta shared with Bulma and then finished undressing them both, only kneeling his way on the bed once they were both naked. Once he was within reach, Vegeta’s tail flicked out and wrapped around his middle to pull him close, and Kakarot laughed, “That’s gonna take some getting used to.”

“Thank you, Kakarot,” Vegeta murmured in a rare moment of absolute sincerity, his eyes giving away just how serious he was. “Using Shenron to restore my tail was a flagrant misuse of the dragon’s power, but I’m… whole, now. Because of you.”

“Aw, Vegeta,” Kakarot murmured, reaching down and stroking his cheek. “I’m glad you’re happy with it. Honestly I couldn’t think of anything else you might want. You’re a hard man to shop for.”

Vegeta chuckled, running his hands up and down Kakarot’s sides and his back, enjoying having those hard muscles under his fingertips once more. “Your cock would have made a perfectly acceptable gift.”

“Well… guess you’re kinda getting that too, huh?” Kakarot grinned, managing to blush despite it all. Then his nose twitched, and he sniffed a few times and noted, “These sheets smell like you and Bulma.”

Vegeta hummed and took a few whiffs of his own, rather enjoying the mingled scents of his wife and Kakarot wafting around him. “Does that bother you?”

Kakarot shook his head. “No. Kinda gives me the urge to… get my scent all over you, though,” he admitted, a little confused by his own words. 

“Ahhh,” Vegeta grinned, effortlessly reversing their positions and getting on top of Kakarot. “Is that a hint of Saiyan instincts I detect?”

“Is it?” Kakarot asked genuinely. 

“It is, Kakarot,” Vegeta purred, leaning down and brushing their lips together in a too-soft kiss. “You want to stake a claim on me. Cover me in your scent so that everyone knows I’m yours.”

Kakarot chuckled as Vegeta began dragging his lips down Kakarot’s throat. “Well, I’m pretty sure everyone knows that after the way you kissed me at the party.”

Vegeta froze, his eyes popping open as the reality of what he’d done suddenly came crashing down upon him. The kiss had happened so spontaneously and on such a high of pure shock and emotion, and now that he was slightly more clear-headed his cheeks turned a bright shade of red and he groaned as he dropped his forehead to Kakarot’s collarbone. 

“I can’t believe I did that.”

Kakarot’s chest rumbled beneath him, his fingers sliding idly through Vegeta’s hair. “I can’t either.”

“It’s all your fault,” Vegeta murmured, continuing his journey downwards and mouthing over the generous swells of Kakarot’s pecs. “As with most things.”

“I don’t mind taking the blame,” Kakarot hissed, tensing as Vegeta’s tongue flicked over a nipple. “Not when things turn out this good.” A graze of teeth, and then Kakarot whispered, “Harder.”

Vegeta smirked as he obliged, knowing how delightfully sensitive the other man was there. He took his time tormenting each nipple with his mouth and fingers, and when Kakarot was starting to breathe a little harder and squirm a bit, Vegeta let his tail slither between them and brush gently against Kakarot’s  _ very _ hard cock. 

Kakarot shuddered and then laughed softly. “ _ That’s _ different.”

“Mm,” Vegeta grunted, mouth rather busy at the moment. He let his tail slide back and forth a few more times before wrapping it around him, snug but not  _ too _ much so, stroking him gently. He glanced up at Kakarot as he moaned quietly, leaving his chest to move back up and kiss him as the tip of his tail began to flick at the tip of Kakarot’s dick. 

“ _ Kami _ ,” Kakarot panted into Vegeta’s mouth. “Fuck, that feels good.  _ Weird _ but good.”

“Is this really why you made that wish, Kakarot?” Vegeta smirked, glancing down to watch as his tail moved so fluidly and gracefully he could hardly believe he’d been without it for so long. “To  _ fully _ experience sex with a Saiyan?”

“No!” Kakarot’s eyes opened, a touch of horror within them. “No, ‘Geta, it was only for you, I promise. I didn’t even think of how it might affect sex!”

Vegeta chuckled, fully believing him. “Of course you didn’t. How a man can be so innocent and yet so  _ filthy _ as you is beyond me. You are truly something special, Kakarot.”

Kakarot smiled weakly, biting his lip amid the tail’s ongoing delicious assault upon him. “G-good special?”

“Yes, you beautiful idiot,” Vegeta murmured, sealing the words with a kiss. “Good special.”

Kakarot groaned and sunk his hands into Vegeta’s hair, thrusting up into his tali’s embrace. “Say that again.”

“Say what again?”

“The… beautiful thing,” Kakarot blushed, and Vegeta suddenly remembered how much Kakarot valued words like that, expressing a very surprising amount of insecurities in the past. Vegeta was sure that his disastrous actions several months ago had only made it worse, but he was more than willing to help patch any leftover wounds with sweet words. 

“You are far more than merely beautiful,” Vegeta purred, brushing their noses together and letting his hands roam Kakarot’s body freely. “You are the pinnacle of everything I as a Saiyan am designed to desire. Every muscle,” he ran his fingertips down his abs, “every scar,” he traced over a faded one on his ribcage, “everything from your ridiculous hair to the scent of your skin and the taste of your cock - it’s almost as if you were created to tempt me, Kakarot. Even when I hated you and could have never admitted it to myself, I wanted to  _ drown _ myself in you.”

Kakarot blinked up at him in shock, a gorgeous flush on his cheeks as he asked quietly, “You really mean that, Vegeta?”

Vegeta nodded. “So you see, Kakarot,” he unwound his tail from the other man’s cock and brought it up further between them, using the tip of it to nudge Kakarot’s chin up a little higher. “Had you accepted my offer to join me back when we first met, you would have quickly discovered my ulterior motives behind that proposition.”

Kakarot grinned. “So… you didn’t just want me to fight alongside you. You wanted to fuck me, too.”

Vegeta paused. He’d already confessed damn near everything, so why not take it all the way? “Actually, I’d have wanted you to do the fucking.” Then he kissed Kakarot with everything he had, and he was  _ delighted _ when Kakarot responded with a deep, threatening growl and snatched back the control, flipping them back over. 

“Kami, Vegeta,” Kakarot grinned, his voice a little breathless but rough with arousal, “you amaze me.” He kissed Vegeta long and deep, groaning against his lips, “I can’t wait to be inside you again.”

“Then do it, Kakarot,” Vegeta demanded, sharply catching the younger Saiyan’s lower lip between his teeth. “What are you waiting for?”

Kakarot groaned and reluctantly pulled away to grope at the bedside table, yanking open the top drawer and fishing around blindly for a bottle of lube. His tongue poked out of the corner of his mouth as he dug around, and when he pulled out the first object that his fingers touched, he looked up and his eyes widened comically. 

“Whoa,” Kakarot marveled, “what’s this thing? Ooh, wait - this is what Bulma uses on you, isn’t it?”

Vegeta’s eyes flew to the object in question, dangling from Kakarot’s fingers by the black straps it was fastened to, and Vegeta’s face turned the color of a strawberry as he choked, “Put it back, Kakarot! Just get the damn lube and mind your own business!”

“Sorry!” Kakarot giggled, putting it back where he’d found it and rifling around the drawer’s contents again. “I should ask Chi-Chi if she’d be interested in using one of those on me from time to time.”

Somehow Vegeta’s face grew even redder as he sputtered, “This is hardly the time or place, Kakarot!”

“What, you jealous?” Kakarot winked -  _ winked _ \- as he finally located the blasted lube and sat back on his heels, pushing Vegeta’s legs further open with one hand as he popped the cap with his other. 

“Of course not!” Vegeta spat. “What you and your woman do doesn’t concern me. She can fuck you all she likes, it wouldn’t bother me.”

“Aw,” Kakarot chuckled, two slick fingers pressing into his flesh and wasting no time in sliding inside, taking his breath away. “Would have been kinda hot if you  _ were _ jealous. Wanting to be the only dick I’ve ever taken and all that.”

Vegeta groaned, his brain barely able to process the words as Kakarot’s fingers fucked into him at a ruthless pace. He welcomed it, neither wanting or needing a gentle hand or to be eased slowly into it. “B-being the first is enough for me.”

Kakarot grinned, leaning down and capturing his parted lips. “You’re amazing, you know that?”

“Shut up and fuck me, imbecile.”

“Not yet,” Kakarot chuckled, trailing down to nip at his jaw and his throat. “I like this part, don’t rush me.”

Vegeta huffed in frustration, tensing so that he gripped Kakarot’s fingers in a vice-like hold as he growled, “I have waited long enough for your fucking cock, you bastard, so give it to me before I expire from old age.”

Kakarot growled right back, his features shifting from soft to slightly threatening. “I said  _ not yet. _ ”

Vegeta glared back at him, challenging. “And I said  _ now _ , Kakarot.”

Kakarot’s jaw clenched, and then his free hand shot into Vegeta’s hair and gripped it hard, yanking back his head and making him cry out in a pleasured pain as Kakarot hissed, “You’ve been so good all night, ‘Geta - don’t start being bad now.”

Teeth then sunk into Vegeta’s neck, hard enough to  _ just _ break the skin, and Vegeta groaned and relaxed in the other man’s hold.  _ Fuck _ he’d missed this. 

“I’ve missed this so much, can’t rush it now,” Kakarot purred, licking up the tiny drop of blood he’d drawn and then kissing the bite mark as if in apology. “Gotta take my time, enjoy it.”

Vegeta moaned, Kakarot slipping a third finger in and assaulting his sweet spot mercilessly, making his entire body tremble. “Since when do you -  _ fuck _ \- have the p-patience…”

Kakarot chuckled. “Good question. Not sure.” Then he paused and bit his lip, looking down at the gorgeous mess that Vegeta currently was and grinning, “Maybe I don’t after all.”

And that was all the warning got before Vegeta was flipped over and yanked up on his hands and knees, his tail thrashing about with a mind of its own as Kakarot manhandled him. He fought back a whimper at how empty he felt without Kakarot’s fingers, looking over his shoulder and watching as Kakarot hurriedly slicked up his cock and pressed it against him, purring, “This what you wanted, Vegeta?”

“Shut up and fuck me,” Vegeta demanded through gritted teeth, earning himself a slap on the ass so harsh it would have shattered a human’s bones. All it did was send a shock of pleasure up his spine, his tail tensing along with the rest of his body before swishing loosely and then freezing as Kakarot finally pushed inside of him. Vegeta dropped his head in sheer relief, a deep groan rumbling through his chest as the emptiness vanished and was replaced with warmth and bliss at last. 

“Fuck, I almost forgot how tight you are,” Kakarot panted once he was fully seated, taking a moment to gather himself and not shoot off within mere seconds. Both hands were braced on Vegeta’s hips until his curiosity got the better of him, his right hand venturing instead to the furry new appendage he wanted to get better acquainted with. 

He stroked along the length of it softly, Vegeta’s resulting purr audible. Kakarot smiled and kept doing it, squeezing just slightly when he’d reach the tip, and meanwhile his hips slowly began to rock and establish a rhythm. As he slowly fucked into his lover and caressed his tail, an idea struck him that he suddenly wanted to test. If Vegeta’s tail scar had been so sensitive before, would that same area be sensitive now - maybe even more so? Only one way to find out. Now moving more deeply within Vegeta, he aimed directly at his prostate and moved his hand to the base of his tail, pressing in gently at the root at the exact moment of his next thrust, and Vegeta  _ howled _ . 

Vegeta felt like he’d just been electrocuted in the most pleasant and enjoyable way possible. Every nerve ending in his body was alive and on  _ fire _ , and the sound that ripped out of his throat was so unlike any before that Kakarot froze and instantly thought the worst. 

“Are you okay? Did I hurt you? Did -“

“Shut up and do it again,” Vegeta gasped, still trembling from the after effects of the combined sensations. His tail curled around Kakarot’s forearm and tugged, and Kakarot grinned as he obliged and ran his palm over the small of Vegeta’s back. “ _ Fuck _ .”

“That good, huh?” Kakarot asked, picking up back where he’d left off without a hitch. “ _ Kami _ you’re pretty like this, ‘Geta.”

Vegeta opened his mouth to yell at the other man to shut up and get to work already but his words died in his throat as another rapturous wave of pleasure overcame him thanks again to the combined efforts of Kakarot’s cock and his fingers, and  _ fuck _ if this alone wasn’t worth having the tail back. He’d never gotten to experiment like this before, only having had his own hands to explore with when he was still whole, but Kakarot seemed dead set on making sure Vegeta got to make up for all of that lost time. Each new thrust of his hips was punctuated by the pressing and rubbing of his fingers at that curious little spot at the base of his tail, and every time Vegeta all but convulsed and gasped and moaned like he never had before. It was like all the pleasure of an orgasm without the release, and the deeper Kakarot fucked him and the harder his fingers moved, the more intense it was. 

It wasn’t long before Vegeta lost all strength in his limbs, his arms giving up as he fell flat against the bed and gripped the sheets in his trembling hands. Kakarot didn’t mind, his free hand easily holding up Vegeta’s hips and supporting him, and all Vegeta could do was groan and writhe and demand  _ more _ ,  _ harder _ and cry out and shudder when he got exactly that. It was too much, more pleasure than he knew how to handle with no end in sight, and as Kakarot’s thrusts grew even harsher, Vegeta’s body began to inch precariously into overstimulation territory. But he didn’t ask Kakarot to stop or to ease up, instead barreling head-first into whatever torturous pleasure was coming for him, never one to back down from a challenge. 

“Oh, fuck, Vegeta, I’m so close,” Kakarot confessed, leaning down and dragging his mouth over Vegeta’s sweat-slicked shoulder. “I can’t - you gotta come for me, baby.”

He didn’t even flinch at the term of endearment, another loud howl escaping his throat when Kakarot’s hand slipped down and began jerking him off in time with his thrusts  _ and _ the strokes of his other hand. Vegeta couldn’t have fought it even if he’d tried, his entire body seizing up and going rigid for one fleeting moment before shuddering and shaking uncontrollably as he came so hard that he, quite literally, blacked out. It was simply too much, especially combined with Kakarot’s own deep growl of a moan as he came inside of him, and Vegeta could do nothing but surrender to the dark as it overtook him in the wake of the bone-shaking orgasm. 

And when Vegeta came to, he and Kakarot were cleaned up and tucked safely under the sheets, Kakarot the big spoon to Vegeta’s little one, pressing warm kisses along his neck and shoulder as he slowly became fully conscious of the world around him again. 

“Ugh,” Vegeta groaned, bringing a hand to his face and rubbing over it roughly. “Infernal subspace bullshit…”

“I don’t think it was that, actually,” Kakarot chuckled, hugging him a little tighter now that he was awake. “I think you just… came so hard you passed out.”

“How long has it been?” Vegeta asked, a little alarmed at the idea of that. Then again, he shuddered slightly as he recalled, that  _ had _ been some of the most pleasure-intensive sex of his life. His cheeks reddened as he remembered the sounds that he’d made, reminding himself to thank Bulma later for making sure their room was soundproof. 

“Not sure, maybe fifteen minutes,” Kakarot shrugged. 

“Fifteen minutes?!” Vegeta exclaimed, tensing a little in Kakarot’s arms. “What the hell did you do to me, Kakarot?”

“Nothing, I swear!” Kakarot chuckled, nuzzling his neck and his breath tickling him a little bit. “Guess you just needed some time to recover.”

Vegeta sighed, annoyed with himself and his own uncontrollable reactions to Kakarot and the seemingly effortless skills he held to manipulate Vegeta’s body to do as he pleased with it. All that time apart and he hadn’t missed a beat, and Vegeta was as happy with that as he was annoyed.  _ Damn Kakarot, always having to be so insufferably good at everything _ . 

Then again, he could only complain so much when he got to reap such incredible benefits. 

“Hey, Vegeta,” Kakarot whispered, and Vegeta turned his head to look back at him. Kakarot smiled and kissed the tip of his nose. “Happy birthday.”

Vegeta blushed and tried to think of a cutting insult to retort with, but nothing would come to mind. After a few moments of glaring, he simply exhaled and decided to just accept his fate for the time being. “Thank you.”

Kakarot smiled happily and hugged him tighter, and it was then that Vegeta realized that his tail was wrapped snugly around Kakarot’s thigh and had been the entire time. Distantly, he wondered what his old self would have thought had he been told that one day he would be laying naked in his sworn enemy’s arms, basking in the afterglow of otherworldly sex, his newly restored tail clinging to Kakarot and holding him close, all during a grand birthday party thrown by his loving and devoted wife, attended by all their friends and family. The thought made him chuckle under his breath. 

And none of it would have been possible had Kakarot not been utterly absurd and shown Vegeta mercy that fateful day so many years ago, when Vegeta had lost his tail on the first battlefield he’d ever shared with Kakarot. 

“What’s so funny?” Kakarot asked, his eyes closed and his tone increasingly sleepy. 

“You, you clown,” Vegeta replied, eyes closed and a small grin on his face. 

Kakarot grunted lightly, biting back a yawn. “What’d I do this time?”

_ Saved my life. Gave me a second chance I never deserved. Set me on the path that brought me to my Bulma and my children. Challenged me to be better, stronger, to rise every time I fell. Gave me back a piece of our destroyed home planet. Understood me and my Saiyan blood when few others ever could. Gave me a reason to keep going and keep pushing myself when I was lost. Accepted me for everything I am and everything I am not, even when I couldn’t.  _

_ Made me whole again.  _

He said none of these things, of course, but one day he would. One day it wouldn’t be quite so hard anymore, and he would make sure that Kakarot knew. Today wasn’t that day, however, and that was okay. 

Kakarot let out a quiet snore, and Vegeta turned back to watch him with a small, affectionate smile on his lips. His eyes tracing over Kakarot’s peaceful, handsome features and the adorably dopey way he looked when he was asleep, Vegeta sighed and allowed himself to whisper the words that he wasn’t quite ready for Kakarot to hear just yet. 

One day. Just not today. 

“You made me love you, you idiot.”

  
  



End file.
